In Love and War
by Demolitionxlover77
Summary: Tristan has finally found a refuge, she hopes, in rural Louisiana. Renard Parish is home to many creatures that go bump in the night, but nothing like Tristan. Her past has always had a way of coming back to bite her, and her estranged siblings will make a show. As Eric works his way into her complicated life without meaning to. Is it destiny or just a cruel twist of fate?
1. Chapter 1

I had this job for two weeks and I was already overwhelmed. It was a far cry from most of the other jobs I'd had before. Basic retail cashier, drive-through order taker, even a stint in a nursing home kitchen hadn't prepared me for this. In this job, there was no recipe book you follow or service supervisor to report to. I had to wing it.

That is all I had done with my life since I was seventeen so I should have been used to it. It should have come naturally. I was just so tired of having to keep up with life in general by way of winging it. It's almost all I could remember now.

The past eight years of my life were full of a variety of things. One of which I had chosen to leave behind. My family, the one I grew up with anyway, were tucked safely away in their California home. Unaware of what I had been up to and unsure of where I had moved (it had been often) they gave me a sweet mercy by staying in the same home, keeping the same phone number. I only ever checked in when my heart was close to breaking and it seemed I was due to check in soon as my mood plummeted with my thoughts.

Lafayette pulled me out of my internal downward spiral waving his hands in front of me like he sometimes would.

"Hey Kat-wo-man," he sang at me looking into my eyes for more than the first time that night. "Is we or isn't we gon be cooking with each other's tonight?"

"Mmm, sorry Laf, guess I was zoned out for a bit," I replied. "Sure we're gonna cook. What are we making?" And with that, we were on to my lesson for the night, how to make gumbo.

I didn't really pay as close attention as I should have but Lafayette had a way to pull me back every time.

I would have to look up the recipe online to see what really went into it because the way Lafayette made it, almost everything but the kitchen sink went into it. I didn't mind, it just meant more focus for me when it came time to make it, that was for damn sure.

I went to grab my things from the office before I left I quite literally, ran into Sookie.

"Oops!"

"Sorry!"

"Excuse me," she remarked, to which I stated

"No problem." Our awkward exchange took mere seconds but her next words were sweet and too prying and just too much all at the same time.

"You heading back to the Motel?" She had inquired. I made a non-committal remark and made another excuse as to why I was still in a temporary living situation. I knew this woman's heart bled for just about everyone, that much was clear when her "not boyfriend" had caused a commotion in the parking lot a few nights ago and she instead went to the other person's side to help.

Like I said, bleeding heart. What was more, she was always helping everyone outside of work if and when they needed it. Always prepared with a kind word or something to help ease your worries, she was someone I hoped to befriend and get to know better.

"You know Sam has some apartments for rent right now, why don't you ask on your next shift?" I hadn't known that our boss was into so many businesses in town but at the mention of something more permanent than the dingy motel room I was calling "home" I brightened.

"I had no idea he owned apartments. Would he really let me rent from him, Sookie?" I queried.

"Oh, sure!" Came brightly from her lips. "He used to rent to another girl that used to work here, Dawn, but after what happened to her…well anyways. He was also renting to Holly, last I checked," she finished rather quickly choosing to skip over the details of what had happened with the former waitress. I knew not to ask and working with Lafayette in the kitchen, I almost never had to.

"Well thanks for the lead," I managed before we were both out the door and to our respective vehicles. Although my car wasn't "new" I could say that I was doing better in that department than Sookie was, since I had already started my car up and was ready to head out of the parking lot.

I stopped next to her and heard the engine squeal something awful and rolled down my automatic window. "Hey Sook," I started. "Do you need a ride?"

She got out of her car and made a face. Because I hadn't known her that long I don't know what it meant but I guessed it was something like a defeat because she hollered a yes and went around the car to get in beside me.

"Tell me where I'm heading," I offered driving out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

The drive wasn't a long one and we were at her home in fifteen minutes. We talked about insignificant things on the way and the conversation flowed freely. I couldn't help but notice the few times she seemed far away and had to be brought back to the conversation we were having. Some of the customers at Merlotte's had told me she was a little off at times but I had thought nothing of it until we talked in my car.

In the short drive to her house, where I learned about her family and how important the house was to her, I also discovered that I was not alone in my own head anymore. I just wouldn't realize it until I was back on my own and running the conversation through my head to make sure I didn't add details no one should know while we talked. Details about my past, my possible future, and all of the horrible things that had kept me on the run for the last eight years of my life since my high school graduation.

Pulling into her drive on Humming Bird Lane, I noticed a sporty red corvette that I knew wasn't hers or her brother Jason's. Out of the tiny car came one if the tallest men I had ever laid eyes upon who was also Sookie's "not boyfriend", Eric Northman. As stunning as he looked I knew whatever was about to take place didn't concern me and I didn't need more fuel for my lonely heart to start dreaming things that were impossible. I wasn't someone to ever try to steal a boyfriend or overstep my boundaries but I could appreciate still, right?

I put the car in park so Sookie could get out and deal with him as she saw fit. Instead, she sighed deeply and looked between me and Eric. While she was still sitting in the car Eric sauntered over to her side and opened the door. I continued to sit on my side of the car waiting to get myself in gear and get back to the motel room I was occupying until further notice.

"I called you at work," Eric mentioned to Sookie as she clambered out of the vehicle and began to close the car door. The last thing I caught was "I know, Eric! Five times and I didn't answer because, hello, I was at work," from Sookie.

I started to drive back to town but before I got to the end of the drive Eric appeared in front of my car. I screeched to a halt, slamming on the brake pedal and causing my car to sway and shake before completely stopping. He walked to my window and tapped lightly while staring at the car like it was from hell and should be quarantined.

The look on his face both confused and frightened me. He looked angry and hurt, slightly confused and as though he was trying not to let it show. How I could tell all that just by looking at him I wasn't sure but it lasted for only a few seconds. I rolled down my window so he could talk to me without raising his voice and because he scared me when he talked louder than was appropriate when two people were standing fairly close together.

"Sookie would like to apologize for not thanking you properly and also wishes for you to come inside for refreshment," Eric stated in a droll manner. He seemed thrilled to be delivering her messages.

"She would also like to apologize for my frightening you," Eric said off-handedly before taking off back to the house. Well, color me shocked. I didn't feel she needed to apologize for anything and for Sookie to feel responsible for Eric's actions told me more about how she felt towards him than words ever would.

Sighing quietly to myself and choosing not to offend her because she was so nice to me while we were working, I turned my car around and parked in front of her porch. Sookie was standing by the front door waiting patiently for me to come inside with her and Eric was nowhere in sight. Climbing out of my car I was first hit by the overwhelming smell of jasmine and earth.

I was caught off guard by the sheer force at which the memories assaulted me. I thought I held it together well but I must have overestimated myself judging by the look on Sookie's face. I let out a small groan and stretched as though I were only feeling the strain of work to cover myself. Sookie looked as though she wanted to say something but held her tongue.

I climbed up the steps and followed her inside the house taking in the foyer, staircase, living room and kitchen situated in the front. As she led me into the kitchen on the left I registered the sound of a microwave beeping. I didn't recall seeing Sookie go into the house before me and was surprised to find Eric pulling a bottle of True Blood out, shaking to distribute the warmth throughout and popping the top off.

"Would you like anything to drink, Katrina?" Sookie offered heading over to a cabinet and pulling two glasses out. As she placed them on the table at the center of the kitchen I noticed how strained and tired she appeared, probably as a result of keeping odd hours for more than just work.

"Just water, thank you," I supplied. She put out her hand in a gesture meant as a 'please sit down' and I obliged by pulling out a chair as she filled my glass with water from the tap and went to the refrigerator to pour herself some sweet tea.

Eric loomed by the microwave while Sookie took a seat across from me and began to sip her tea. The longer we sat and Eric stood, the more awkward and pregnant the silence became. Just as I was about to tell Sookie she didn't have to go to all the trouble of thanking me, she spat out "I'm sorry I was so rude earlier."

At a loss of what to say, I simply stated "No. It's fine. You weren't rude at all, really," before sucking in a deep breath and letting it back out.

"I know you aren't from the South, but to me, it's bad manners to leave without saying thank you. Even for a simple ride," Sookie told me more firmly. "I would also like to apologize for Eric's behavior since he is frequently my guest," she added, almost as an afterthought.

I nodded in assent because words escaped me. Eric made no effort to apologize on his behalf or to attest or deny the need for an apology. A smirk graced his lips as the exchange passed but he generally kept his gaze locked on the back of Sookie's head. As if she could feel his eyes she would turn and glare at him over her shoulder before bringing her attention back to me. I finished my water and was about to get up to put my glass in the sink when Sookie said, "no, no! Let me get that for you," and quickly grabbed my glass to fill it with more water.

"It's alright, I don't need anymore," I said as plainly as possible. It was getting really late and I was going to need some sleep before I came in on my day off to talk to Sam tomorrow.

"Oh come on, you can stay a little while longer," Sookie pestered.

"I would love to, but I feel like I'm intruding and I don't want to take up too much of your time," I countered. "I was planning on coming in tomorrow to talk to Sam about renting from him, so I do need my rest."

Sookie pouted a little but seemed to accept that and appeared genuinely glad I would be moving to something more permanent. Eric was the one who surprised me by asking, "Where are you currently staying?"

If the question didn't catch me off guard then his eyes smoldering in a delightful and wicked way certainly did. But those couldn't have been meant for me, he'd been trained on Sookie the entire time I had been here. Though the daggers she shot his way also threw me.

"I've been at the little motel off the highway about halfway between here and Shreveport," I stated calmly. It was small and dingy but it was out of the way and not someplace most people would generally stay unless they were in a desperate state. Just the way I liked it considering how my life seemed to go when I thought I was doing well.

"That's hardly a motel. Not even habitable in my opinion," Eric added as Sookie harrumphed and looked at the grain in the wood of her kitchen table.

"Well, it's is the lowest price," I countered defensively. I wasn't sure where he was going with this but I was quickly getting uncomfortable and by the look of it so was Sookie. She was twirling her hair trying to look nonchalant but kept glancing my way and in the general direction of Eric, albeit as far around as her eyes would go because he was still behind her.

"I don't suppose you have found anywhere more suitable to your needs?" Eric questioned me.

"I've found it suitable enough for my needs. I don't plan on staying there much longer anyway. I plan on asking Sam Merlotte to rent one of his units to me if it's available," I retorted. I didn't like the way he had sneered and the manner in which he said the word 'needs' to me.

If he was insinuating anything I wouldn't have any of it. Even if I appeared to be available, my heart was all the way across the country and that wouldn't change anytime soon, I hoped. No doubt Eric was very easy on the eyes and he had a lilt to his voice that spoke many secret and unmentionable things you never even knew you wanted, but for me, my heart belonged to Derek.

Everything that he and I had been through and the fact Derek still wanted me after all the running I had done was proof that if anyone could do this with me, it was him. He had been the one who helped me discover who I truly was, what I truly was. Without him, I would be an entirely different person and I may not have even been alive.

Leaving my family was hard for me, but leaving the person who was my other half was even more difficult. It was like tearing apart my soul for the sake of my body to live. I knew leaving was what was best, though because it was safer for him this way. Safer for everyone that I cared about. I wonder if Eric cared about anyone else but himself.

While I was contemplating my situation and how to make it better Eric seemed lost in his thoughts and Sookie had begun washing the dishes in the sink. There weren't many but I got up to help her dry them and put them in the dish drainer before I left. As I put the last dish in the drainer and turned to dry my hands Eric decided to speak again.

"If your boss, Sam Merlotte has nothing available I may have a property that is more hospitable than that wretched motel you are staying at," he started out. "Or if that is not to your liking, perhaps Sookie could rent you a room for the time being?" As the words left his mouth a smile slid across his face.

Sookie seemed to stop for a moment while she glared at Eric before stating with clenched teeth, "I can offer up my own home Eric, I don't need you inviting people into my house for me."

She turned facing me and then said lighter, "I'm sorry to put you in the middle of this argument, and I don't mean to say I wouldn't want you around, just that I would like it more on my own terms and not Eric's or anybody else's."

I nodded my assent and went to leave but before I reached the door Sookie stopped me. With a light tap on my shoulder and a pensive look on her face, Sookie asked me, "Would you like your spend the night tonight?" I stood in the doorway, my hand just grasping the doorknob when she spoke again.

"I know it's a long drive and it's near three o'clock in the morning. I wouldn't want to send you out on the road at this time of night without knowing it was a short drive."

I really didn't want to put her out and despite her words earlier I felt like she would rather not have me around. Because this was newer territory for me I wasn't quite sure what to do. Before I could venture anything I had to say, Eric piped up.

"If it is the length of the drive that concerns you both, I can be of assistance," he quipped.

As intriguing as that offer was I had errands to run in the morning and would need my car. My best bet was to just stay here with Sookie and crash on the couch.

"That's very kind of you, Eric, but I will need my car in the morning because-"

"It will be taken care of," he said matter of factly.

"That's good to know, but I really would like to keep my eyes on the only major possession I have at the moment," I shot back. If this was an intimidation thing I knew I would lose but I wouldn't go down without trying.

"Besides," I started again, "I think the more sleep I can get the better. If I'm going to be talking to Sam in the morning I want to be more coherent than I would be heading back to the Motel and getting very little sleep. So Sookie, thank you, and yes, I believe I will stay the night here. I really appreciate you going out of your way to help me out tonight."

"It's no problem at all. I'm just glad you won't be driving all that way tonight," Sookie chirped.

Eric loomed next to us in the doorway but said nothing more. He seemed slightly peeved if that's even the correct word to describe his attitude. He was staring at both Sookie and me so intently that I began to grow uncomfortable again.


	2. Chapter 2

I inquired as to where the bathroom was and went to wash up before bed. Years of running from everything that had turned bad in my life had kept me sharp to a good extent. I kept a spare change of clothes that was passable as casual and comfortable as well as travel toiletries, and a spare hairbrush in my car at all times in case I couldn't make it back to where I kept everything else.

Not that I had much else. Everything I truly cared about was able to fit in my car and most of it I could carry on my person. I had learned the hard way how painful it could be when sentimental and valuable items were ripped from you and all you could do was stand and watch. The fact that HE was responsible for losing the thing I held most dear until that point wasn't lost on me and didn't make my pain any easier. It did make me more determined than ever to get out while I still could. Damn the fates that said I had only a few ways to escape my future. I would find a different way that kept everything and everyone I loved safe; I just had to keep looking.

Thinking about my past had been something I tried to avoid and usually put me in a mood of sorts so while I washed my hands I must have scrubbed too hard. There was a slight trickle of blood running down my palm from just below my wrist. Okay, I guess I didn't scrub too hard. Things like this only happened every once in a while and it was because I lost control of my emotions. This was one of many different results but the best that could have happened at this moment.

I quickly ran some more water over the tiny cut and rubbed one of my fingers over it to staunch the bleeding. It was something I had discovered shortly after Derek had revealed who he was to me and how important I was to so many people. This secret that I had wasn't because of him, but because of what I am. He only allowed me to discover my true potential and my true nature. The nature of an ethereal and otherworldly being that has somehow been trapped, for lack of a better word, in a normal human body until reaching the age my real parents decided upon that would mark my coming of age.

Yeah, I got the best of both worlds and also the worst. Being human until you're seventeen and about to graduate high school is nice, but when you start changing and becoming more of your true self, it sort of leaves you with fewer friends and tons if questions. Luckily Derek had been there for me and the human family that had raised me had developed such a deep bond that they stuck with me to help me through my transition from "normal" to "other".

They graciously accepted the fact that Derek was also like me but had already come into his otherness. I wasn't sure what that entailed for him exactly but I knew he had answers for me that nobody else did. Even if he had gone about becoming my friend in a way that was underhanded and misleading, we worked past that and became drawn to each other.

Our relationship developed over the last few months I was in high school and while I tried community college the semester after graduating. Derek kept me grounded and reminded me of what I was fighting to hold on to here but he also filled me in on my missing history and everything that went along with my changes. Not only was I not from the world of Earth, I was royalty. Not a normal, average, whatever I was, but the princess and heir to the throne.

Toss in my older sister and still older half-brother and things became more complicated. Unfortunately, it was just after learning about my siblings that the chaos that had become my life exploded and everything was turned upside down. But to rethink and constantly reassess what I could have done differently or if I could have changed the outcomes didn't help me now. Right now I needed to focus.

"Come on, come on," I muttered as I continued to rub my fingers against the wound. As I did so I began to feel the tell-tale tingling that accompanied my special tricks and helped to heal my wound so it would appear that nothing had happened. Surprisingly, or maybe not, in the short time that I was washing up Sookie and Eric had begun to argue. I wasn't sure what about but I most definitely knew they had been talking quietly when I left and they were now close to yelling as I returned. As I rounded the corner I caught the last snippet from Sookie and Eric's argument.

"You were trying to glamour her! I could see it on your face," Sookie cried, exasperated.

"What concern is it of yours, min felik prinsessa, with who and what I try to acquire as an asset or a plaything," Eric intoned.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at them both. The expression on my face was caught somewhere between shock, embarrassment, and anger. If Eric Northman wanted me as a plaything it was not happening. I had been a plaything before and I would not allow myself to be drawn into servitude for the second time in my life. That was a chapter in my life I glossed over at best and rarely opened to anyone but Derek, and my family when they needed to know why I had chosen to leave them behind.

"I'm not sure what's going on here," I started as calmly as I could, "But if there's something you two need to work out maybe I should just go back to the motel to sleep tonight."

I could tell Sookie was uncomfortable that I had walked in on their argument but she wanted to be the best hostess she could and still offer me somewhere to sleep.

"Also, what is glamouring?" I asked cautiously before inching my way closer to the front door.

I had heard the term used before but I wasn't sure what it was and if it was a good or bad thing. Hopefully, they would tell me without any problem and I could get a straight answer.

Faster than my eyes could track, Eric was by the door and behind me from the way I was standing. He had blocked my exit and taken away the feeling of security I had managed to slip into. From his stance alone I probably never would have noticed it but the gleam in his eyes showed how much of a predator he truly was.

I spun around slightly and tried to keep them both in my eyesight. I didn't know why but I had a feeling that Eric wasn't the only one who could pose a threat. The thought struck me as odd because Sookie appeared to be fairly small and not as sturdy as other women I'd met, but being from the South I also knew that she could use a gun and could probably identify anything edible outside the home, unlike me.

I was from California, and although short in stature like Sookie, I was more waif-like in appearance. I had slender flowing features that were delicate and gave the impression I was easily breakable, an impression I encouraged to anyone I met. She had golden honey wheat hair that came down just below her shoulders where my hair was black as coal coming down just below my hips. Our differences aside, we also seemed to have a good deal in common with one another. Such as our height, our general ability to get along with almost anyone, and our deep sense of connection to the people we cared about.

I had seen it when I first met Sookie, the way she watched to make sure her brother got to his truck safely, and that Arlene wasn't too overwhelmed with her kids to deal with work. Even Lafayette was watched over by Sookie, and it warmed my heart to know she cared so deeply and completely for these people in her life, it made me trust her before I had gotten to know her at all.

That may have been a mistake but I wasn't about to decide quite yet unless things became too complicated too quickly. Pulling myself from my scrambled thoughts I watched Eric and Sookie exchange a look. Whatever passed between them must have given me the benefit of the doubt because Eric moved away from the door and back into my direct line of sight in front of Sookie, almost like he was guarding her against me.

I hadn't slipped up in any of the conversation Sookie and I had made since we met, or tonight with the awkward exchanges that kept happening but it seemed as though they both knew more about me than I had let on intentionally. That worried me until I remembered that vampires have enhanced capabilities such as sight, strength, hearing, and speed, as well as an increased sense of smell. I could have kicked myself for being so stupid. If I had driven back when I had the chance I may not be in the mess I was gearing up for now. Of course, Eric could have caught my scent any of the other times he had visited Sookie at work, but he might have let it go before now.

Because I was the apparent threat now, I knew exactly where they placed each other in their lives, all other allusions aside. Anything they said I wouldn't believe anymore. I knew what it was like to have the one you loved threatened and I didn't want to put them through that if I could avoid it. For now at least, I would play dumb and see where it got me with the two of them, but I wasn't expecting any miracles.

"Eric, stop," Sookie growled as she placed her hand on his forearm. He didn't make any move to step away from or behind her so she tried again.

"Move aside or I'll rescind your invitation, Eric Northman."

Eric made and angry and disgruntled look that soured his appearance instantly. Despite his qualms about her being defenseless he stepped aside and kept as close to her as she would allow in present company. I would almost say it was amusing to see how much power she had over him but honestly, it was more frightening. I didn't know how old Eric was, but from the way he talked to her and others as well as the power I could almost feel rolling off him at times, he must have been old. For someone who was around my age, or at least the age that everyone would believe I was, controlling a vampire's baser instincts was both bold and reckless or a sign of complete trust.

Sookie motioned for Eric to move into the living room so we could all sit and with little protest, he obliged. From where I was sitting, across the small coffee table from Sookie in her comfortable recliner and Eric standing tall and intimidating beside her, I could see his hands begin to twitch in an impatient way. I could only guess at what that meant and hope it wasn't for me in any way.

He cleared his throat to get Sookie into action and glared down at the top of her head. She fidgeted around in her seat uncomfortably before looking up into his eyes. A questioning look on her face during their silent exchange produced a shrug of Eric's shoulders in an 'I don't know, it's your call' manner that perplexed me.

"I don't know what you are, exactly, but you're making Eric antsy," Sookie said to me bluntly. Well, this was going great.

"I-I'm sorry?" I questioned earnestly. Perhaps trying to settle my life down wasn't an option for me, especially around an area apparently teeming with vampires and who knows what other kinds of creatures.

"I said," Sookie started again then cleared her throat as well.

"I know what you said, but what do you mean by it?" I asked more directly. I wanted to hear her theories and Eric's before deciding if I should just cut and run. They didn't need my problems mucking up their lives and it seemed like they had enough of their own.

At that she pouted and took in a deep breath which she let out after a pause, sounding like a sigh mixed with a yawn and stared at me head on. If she was afraid or nervous she didn't show it, but then again I was getting too nervous to really pay much attention to everyone else in the room while trying to calm myself before I had an episode.

Intense or stressful situations after I began to change, I would have these fits or episodes as I called them. I don't know how exactly they came about but they gave me information that Derek never could, and they became the stuff of my nightmares. They happened similarly to an epileptic episode according to my brothers now fiancé, but that isn't at all what they were. Yes, my body shook and convulsed while I had no control and my eyes had no focus to them, but in my head, new images would appear as though I were dreaming. These were memories I hadn't known about that were locked away from me by my real parents.

If there was ever a time for me to not have an episode, it would be right now. Unfortunately, I would only have seconds notice before the spasms began and I had to be helped to the floor as my body was wracked with tremors and my mind assaulted with new to me memories. Some people I had met that were actually epileptic had given me advice on how to deal with the episodes physically, because to anyone outside of Derek and my family, I was epileptic. I hadn't given much thought to their advice but I was now thinking I should have listened better and maybe taken notes for myself.

I watched as Sookie visibly readied herself for what she was about to say. It must have been important but she was taking too long for Eric and he spoke for her.

"What exactly do you know about vampires," Eric requested? He didn't ask, or fish, he requested. I knew if I didn't answer there would be a command and no more questions. I didn't know how, but I was sure that was how it would be. So I answered with as much conviction as I could muster.

"Not very much," I stated. "I know that you all are very fast, but I never knew quite how fast you are," I motioned toward the foyer where Eric had demonstrated how fast he could move. He smirked at my mention of it then went back into interrogation mode. That's what I decided to call it.

"I also know that you can see much better than people and even animals, and you have great hearing. But that is all I'm aware of," I finished lamely. I looked down at my lap and quietly folded my hands together. I was hoping the night wouldn't end with me on the run again, especially since I was so close to actually being able to start over this time.

Sookie giggled slightly and blushed as well. She had thought of something that was apparently funny and embarrassing pertaining to vampires that I hadn't mentioned or didn't know.

"They also have an extraordinary sense of smell," she finally added, then succumbed to a fit of laughter. Why she found that so funny I had no clue, and I only hoped I wouldn't be enlightened to it.

Eric continued to stare at me like he was the bad cop and Sookie was the good one. As she finished laughing Eric moved to sit on the arm of her chair. She swatted him away and motioned to the chair next to her or the spot on the couch next to me. At that, my heart rate sped up because for the life of me I did not want such a deceptively sweet predator next to me on her couch, or anywhere for that matter; unless it was Derek.

With that thought in my head I began to blush just as Sookie had, but in this circumstance, it appeared that I was blushing because she suggested that Eric sit next to me. Sookie straightened up and sat forward in her chair while Eric grinned unrepentantly and swayed his hips in the direction of the seat next to mine. Before taking the seat he made a big deal of looking concerned for me and with a flourish, inclined his head and pointed next to me while asking, "May I?"

I blanched and could make no noise whatsoever. I nodded and scooted myself upright and slightly to the back of the couch in an attempt to get away. Both Eric and Sookie noticed. Sookie seemed to approve of my gesture while Eric appeared to take it as a challenge. He must have been thinking along the lines of 'anyone who can resist my charms must be gay, or lying to themselves' because he scooted closer to me and without preamble took one of my small hands in his large, calloused ones.

This was not going well for me in the slightest. I gulped and reflexively tried to pull my hand away but Eric wouldn't release me. He gripped me tighter and pulled my hand up to examine the tiny wrinkles and lines upon it. Then he dropped his head to smell my hand and plant a soft kiss on the back of it.

My blush returned and deepened at the unrequited contact and I tried to think of a way to leave without seeming rude. Finding none, I settled for trying and failing to remove my hand from his grasp again. Eric chuckled softly to himself and turned his eyes to mine. Sookie took all of this in as though she was watching her boyfriend and had caught him cheating red handed. Clearing her throat rather loudly broke Eric's gaze with me and brought us back to the discussion we were apparently still going to have.

"You have lovely hands," Eric stage whispered to me while looking at Sookie through his peripheral vision and winking. No one had ever complimented me on my hands, or much of anything, my brother being the exception. Of course, that changed when Derek walked into our lives. I'm not saying I'm a plain Jane and there's nothing special, just that I didn't display my talents often and nobody took the time to figure out if I possessed any.

I sighed to myself and looked sheepishly away from Eric and anywhere but at Sookie in acknowledgment of his compliment. I had never been good at accepting compliments and that definitely had not changed since I'd been on the run. Since I never stayed in one place too long I saw no point in trying to work on my people skills because people were not a set requirement for my future, specifically.

Eric finally released my hand, still grinning and Sookie let out a breath I hadn't known she was holding. I thanked my stars Eric had let me go but I kept my thoughts to myself. As long as he was on the couch with me, I wouldn't feel comfortable. How I would get that across and not end up out in the cold again I was unsure of, but I tried to come up with something when Eric caught my glance and spoke to me.

"Katrina, look at me," Eric stated calmly. I looked at him questioningly and held his gaze. I wasn't sure what he was up to but to refuse felt as though I would be reprimanded.

"Tell me your name," Eric probed. That wasn't what I was expecting. My eyes widened and I glanced to Sookie for some sign of what to do. She was conveniently staring at her fingernails. I turned my gaze back to Eric who was patiently waiting, for his standards anyway.

"My name?" I questioned softly.

"Yes," he replied. I gulped. This is the last thing I needed to happen right now. Maybe not the last thing, but it was near the top for me. I took a deep breath, let it out, and then began the background I had practiced before I had come here to start over.

"My name is Katrina Saunders," I said. Eric nodded slightly and motioned for me to continue.

"I'm twenty-three years old and I have been looking for somewhere to call home. I think I may have found it here," I continued. I found that putting a little truth in the lie made it more believable, so I kept as close to the truth as I could. Just minor changes to protect the people I cared about. Or major changes. Whatever made people stop asking or quenched their curiosity.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Sookie asked me. That was a question I would have to make an answer for.

"That special feeling you get when everything falls into place," I told her. Lie.

"I just want to have a life that I can call my own, and here is where I've felt the most welcomed."

Not exactly the truth but not wholly a lie either. I had a feeling the questions weren't going to get any easier and I began to get more nervous.


	3. Chapter 3

Eric made a face that I couldn't discern and Sookie had a blank expression plastered on. I wasn't going to get anything from them without giving more up about myself. That was something I wasn't really prepared for, let alone willing to do. Unfortunately, I was going to have to talk quicker than expected because of how things were going.

If they weren't buying the act I had carefully put together then I had to work harder at convincing them. They certainly didn't need the mess that was my life bringing theirs to a crashing halt. What's more, even if I wanted to tell them, to tell someone, I couldn't. There was just too much about myself I was still figuring out and what I did know was difficult enough for me to come to terms with some days.

"She's lying," Sookie deadpanned at Eric.

My heart jumped into my throat and I began to breathe quickly, in short bursts as though I had been running. How could she know that? Was I too over the top? I thought my story fit together well.

Eric nodded in her direction then turned his white-hot gaze back on me. I could almost feel the weight of his eyes looking me over and deciding what to do next. I wasn't sure if it was instincts that kicked in or my untimely reaction but when I stammered out a half made excuse for being caught I watched Eric prepare himself to restrain me.

I don't know about most people but I hate being restrained in any way. I will fight tooth and nail to get out and most of the time if it's a person restraining me, they get injured. I was about to find out how being restrained by a vampire felt if I had anything to say about it or not.

With Eric's imperceptible movement and my overreaction, I rocketed out of the seat and towards the foyer. I wasn't quick enough to get out of his grasp entirely but I surprised more than just myself with how swiftly I had covered the ground towards the door. One of Eric's hands made a vice grip on my ankle and halted my progress forward. He used his other hand to flip me over onto my back and grabbed my wrists as he laid his weight on me.

The images flashing behind my eyes didn't match the situation or what was happening in the present, but the flashbacks of memories I thought I'd buried away were making me panic in a different way now. Eric's hands became HIS hands. Eric's face and hair falling into my own became HIS face and hair tangling with mine. If I was breathing at all I couldn't tell. My heart hammered somewhere in my body but I'd lost track of where.

I jerked and fought against the grip holding me down and tried to free myself from Eric's grasp and the memories that haunted me. If something didn't change in my favor soon I wasn't sure what would happen. My changes were almost complete according to Derek when I'd last spoken to him, but that didn't mean I had control over myself. I began to breathe heavily to get my lungs to work properly when Eric shifted his weight. Tears streamed down my face I didn't realize were falling and I bucked my hips up, trying to throw him off of me.

It might have been more than most girls my size were capable of, moving his entire frame a good four inches, but it did nothing to dissuade him from keeping me this way. He tightened his grip and steadied his legs on either side of me to keep me from escaping. I began to whimper and turn my head from side to side, looking for something to get myself back in order. I knew Eric was only keeping Sookie safe and thought I was the danger but I didn't want to prove either of them right.

"Outside," I breathed.

"What?" From Eric.

"Outside," I repeated, almost shrieking.

"Please," I begged. "I can't breathe, it's too hot in here."

He gave an incredulous look down at me. I knew that it wasn't too hot for most people in Sookie's house, and that meant the same went for vampires, but I wasn't most people. Because I was different I had to keep myself away from everyone. My idiosyncrasies were my own even if they were far different than what people were used to, and for people of an accepting nature, they would let me be. Most people didn't fit into that category and when they began to put things together, like my constant need to be outside, the fact I almost never wore a jacket and my love of all things cold, they started to question things.

"What do you mean it's too hot in here?" Came from somewhere over Eric's shoulders.

"I just need air," I stammered.

Eric's eyebrows were raised in a questioning look that would have been answer enough, but something flashed behind his eyes that I hardly noticed and he let me up. I scrambled backward awkwardly until I ran into the wall separating the rooms and quickly righted myself to standing. As I scrambled out the door and into the front yard Eric and Sookie followed me out, if only to ensure I didn't try to leave.

As I gasped down lungful's of air my mind raced. I tried to focus on my surroundings and repress the memories that were whirring away behind my eyes. Why had I thought of those things when Eric held me down, and why had I tried to run before I really knew I had to? I had gotten myself into quite the mess now.

Coming back to the present instead of wallowing, I turned to see Sookie and Eric talking on her front porch. In my hurry, I had rushed down the steps and into the waning moonlight to cool down and collect my thoughts. As I approached the two slowly, Eric shot me a sidelong glance. Stopping at the bottom of the steps I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. I wasn't sure how much I'd ruined my chances for starting over, but I had damage control to take care of before I set my sights on a new place to start my life again.

Eric and Sookie finished their conversation and Sookie moved to go inside. A part of me panicked that she was leaving so she didn't witness Eric disposing of my body for being a danger to them both. I shook my head and kept that thought at bay, that wasn't necessarily what would happen. I jogged up the steps to catch Sookie but Eric stepped in my path, blocking my view and movement. Maybe my errant thought wasn't so far off….

"You can't go any further."

Eric was back to intimidating me. After my luck so far I decided against the snarky comeback appropriate for a third grader and kept my mouth shut. My eyes flicked to Sookie, pleading silently that she let me explain. They both had obviously seen and experienced quite a bit so maybe my story wouldn't make them scoff and try to get me mental help, but I was taking a huge risk just to confide in them for the sake of making my life simple.

"Please," I started. "I just want to explain. I want to apologize for reacting the way I did, it was foolish of me and brash. I don't normally allow my emotions to cloud my judgment that way. "

That wasn't entirely true. Look where that had gotten me, across the country and alone, and possibly about to be killed.

"Were you sent for her?" Eric asked.

I looked between the two of them, confused. The look on my face must have thrown them off too because Eric decided to clarify.

"Were you sent to kill the princess?"

That was the question that sent me for another loop. Sookie was a princess? My luck would land me in the only place with another supernatural being who happened to be another royal. This was just too much for my sleep-deprived brain to handle, so I laughed.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do. I was just realizing what was happening as Eric grabbed me by the shoulders and had me against the side the house next to the door frame. The breath escaped my lungs and I tried to find the ground only to notice I was about two feet above it. My feet were dangling helplessly beneath me and Eric's grip on my arms was tightening in a painful way.

"Ow," I breathed. It only served to anger Eric more. His face was inches from mine, scrunched up in a mask of cruel rage.

"You think it funny do you?"

"The circumstances surrounding this, yes," I countered. Eric let out a beastly growl and shook me against the wall. As my head bounced off the wood siding I realized that if I didn't take control of the situation, my explanation may never be heard, let alone believed if I was allowed to speak freely.

"Eric, please don't make me do something stupid," I managed to speak calmly. A harsh laugh escaped his lips and he spoke bitterly to me.

"I doubt you could do much of anything given the circumstances."

I had figured that he would say something to that effect. I also knew that my time was running out if I wanted to catch him off his guard. Sure Eric was probably expecting me to kick out or attempt to use my dead weight to free myself but what I did was much, much different.

I took in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, centering myself. This would require most of my concentration and I hadn't practiced it like I should have. I began to release part of the energy inside of me that was wholly 'other' and focus it into the palms of my hands.

As they grew colder they began to change color, something I had come to expect from the minimal practice I had done. I brought them up to either side of Eric's torso, seeing as that was the only place I could reach. He tore his gaze from me to stare at my hands, not noticing their paleness or chill and gave a small chuckle.

"This is how you will free yourself, by seducing me?"

"No."

"How then? You are much smaller than me, and I am much faster than you," he stated simply as if it was obvious I had no way out.

"Does blood running through your veins?"

"Excuse me?" He asked. I repeated, growing excited and nervous as I spoke, "Does blood flow through your veins? Does it power the magic that keeps you from death?"

He looked at me as though this had nothing to do with the matter at hand.

"Whether it's a synthetic substitute or from a living host doesn't matter," I clarified.

He shook his head trying to puzzle out my meaning but came up with nothing.

"Yes," he started. "But what concern is that of yours?"

"It helped me solidify my escape plan," I said, smiling triumphantly. I squeezed my hands tightly over the muscles hidden through the fabric. I was hoping the shirt he wore wouldn't interrupt what I was planning and was pleased to find that I could feel my energy leaving my fingers. It seemed slow at first but I knew it would move faster the more I concentrated. Focusing my control to my extremities I pushed at my energy, my magic really, and watched as icy blue frost spread across Eric's chest and up to his neck and shoulders.

The web-like design covering his center began to spread outward. I heard Sookie let out a frightened gasp and almost had my concentration slip but I refocused and pushed harder at the magic I felt swirling within me. I had been holding in my secrets for so long that it felt good to release and be more like myself than I had been for a while.

As understanding began to flash behind Eric's eyes I also so panic and fear. I was unsure why he would be fearful even though I was grateful for his lapse in judgment. This allowed me to kick out at him and break free. As I fell to the ground I lost my balance; being two feet up can do that to someone who is just five feet tall. Eric seemed to be paralyzed in shock so I took the opportunity to grab his ankle and cement him to Sookie's porch by taking in the moisture from the air around us and turning it to ice.

"What kind of witch are you," Sookie exclaimed! It seemed there was a lot I didn't know about around here.

"I'm not a witch," I told Sookie. "I'm not anything like you're used to. That's why I need to explain, about everything."

"You certainly have some explaining to do," said a familiar voice coming out of the woods surrounding Sookie's property.

"Listen, mister," started Sookie. "I don't want no trouble, and we're handling this just fine. I don't know why you're on my property but I think you should leave before something bad happens and my boyfriend gets up."

I hadn't been listening too much to what Sookie was saying but I registered that she had claimed Eric as hers. Good, the tension I'd been feeling was beyond distracting between the two of them. I turned around quickly just to make sure my ears weren't being deceived and almost lost my balance again.

"Careful, wouldn't want you tripping all over yourself now," the man said to me.

I couldn't fully process what was happening right now so I stared openly and unabashedly across the lawn. How had he found me and what was he doing here in Bon Temps, especially at three-thirty in the morning? I decided I didn't care at the moment. Not about Sookie or Eric, about talking to Sam in the morning, about having a job at all. All I cared about was him, from his dark hair falling into his face with the breeze and his green eyes boring holes into my icy blue ones.

"Derek," I whispered softly. His face was a mask hiding any recognition of the name I'd given him if he'd heard it at all.

"Derek!" I cried, snapping out of the stupor I'd fallen in and jumping off the porch steps. My footfalls were light but sure as I made my way to him, moonlight spilling across the expanse between us and giving him an ethereal glow. He turned toward me as I got closer, finished inspecting the two strangers on the porch and grabbed hold of me as I vaulted into his arms. My body crashed into his and I could feel the warmth radiating off him as we held each other tightly in Sookie's front yard.

"How did you know?" I asked, my eyes meeting his in our embrace and questioning his own.

"Tristan," Derek spoke finally. "I will always find you, no matter how far you run from me. It's my job to protect you, not the other way around. You are the only person in the entire universe that I want in my life always, so please stop running from me, okay?"

I nodded, too emotional for words and held him tighter not caring about the spectacle we made.

"I also traced the payphone number you used the last time you called and figured you were done hiding out in the cold, bitter weather of the arctic. This is the only part of the country you haven't been to yet. Guess I made the right choice looking down here, princess."

"Yeah, guess you did," I laughed.

A sound like breaking glass reached our ears and the breeze picked up instantly. Eric had regained his ability to reason and broken free of my restraint. He cut across the lawn and was coming after me, probably furious at what I had done to free myself. I was prepared this time and released Derek as I reached the ground again. Derek moved to get in front of me but I shook my head.

"I'll handle this."

"No, Tristan-"

"Derek, I need the practice. Let me save you for once," I said.

Derek had a scowl on his face but let me step in front of him. This was the time for me to show Derek that I had listened when he was teaching me and could put his direction to good use. When he was helping me learn about my culture and heritage, he also taught me how to defend myself and how to fight. Being someone who doesn't want more attention than necessary, I try to avoid displays of violence or the like at all costs. I could make an exception to protect the people I love.


	4. Chapter 4

Eric moved gracefully with skill I hadn't encountered before. It was obvious he had been a warrior whenever he was turned and having lived however long he had, his skills had only improved. It should have frightened me, instead, it spurred me on.

Even though he was faster than me, I matched him blow for blow, blocking each one and even getting a few small jabs in of my own. I knew it was surprising everyone but Derek, but he had trained me and knew what I was capable of. It should have surprised him, though because I almost never practiced since I started running, and I felt rusty and not up to par as I exerted myself for the first time in months.

My breathing became labored quickly as I kept Eric at bay. He took notice and used it against me, making me work harder to keep myself and Derek protected. Each hit I blocked was followed now by one or two that weren't. Derek was starting to get antsy and looked ready to step in but I didn't want him taking a beating for me.

"I see you're about done, witch," Eric quipped.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" I asked. "I'm not a witch."

Apparently, though, I was easy to fool. Trying to talk and fight at the same time was proving difficult and Eric caught me by the neck, dragging me down to the ground. Derek looked like he was going to pull Eric off but I met his gaze making it clear I didn't want the help. I might have needed it, but I didn't want it.

This time, I was ready for Eric to hold me down but I wasn't nearly as submissive and he struggled with me. If he could have broken a sweat, I think he might have but as it was, he was straining his muscles and clearly worked up about me holding my own. His physical struggle wasn't what made me slip up, it was what he said to me as he held me down.

"Seems like your pet listens well," Eric voiced, nodding in Derek's direction. I huffed in frustration, not acknowledging or denying his statement. When Eric spoke again it chilled even my blood, which is a feat in itself.

"Maybe I should teach him how to heel."

Eric slid over me again, trying to use his weight against me and pinning me to the ground. The only person who had ever insinuated that Derek needed to be trained like an animal was my brother, and the rage I felt building up inside of me was misdirected but would leave a lasting impression on Eric and Sookie.

I stopped struggling and let Eric think I was giving up and he had broken me. When he was about to pull me up to tie my arms to my sides I pulled him close, wrapping my legs around his waist and locking them in place. He was confused until I pulled away just enough to place my feet on his hips and flip him up, over my head and onto the ground above my head.

Derek was smirking at my use of technique and I smiled myself.

"No one talks about him like that. Not ever," I laid into Eric as I straddled his waist (safe zone, duh!) and crossed my arms over my chest. While I was lying prone on the ground I had a tree root that had decayed sticking into my back. I had grabbed it before rolling over and pinning Eric in the same position. I held the root over his heart, a glint in my eye that was murderous and reminded me too much of my brother.

Breathing deeply, I steadied my hand and pressed just enough to make Eric uncomfortable. Despite the lack of a sharp point in the root I knew how to make it work for me should I need it to. Derek came to stand beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder. I knew he was trying to diffuse the situation but I didn't want to let it go, because Derek was my everything, and no one was going to say any less of him in front of me and get away with it.

"Tryst, you don't have to do this. I know how you feel but this is not going to make things better," Derek spoke in my ear. I knew Eric had heard every word because he perked up when Derek began to speak. I pressed harder into Eric's chest reminding him who had the upper hand now.

"Tristan is it?" Eric asked while bringing one hand up around my own, and the root. I nodded because I didn't trust myself to not say something I would regret.

"For someone who didn't know much about vampires ten minutes ago, you seem to know quite a bit now," Eric mused. "The fatal error you made with the knowledge you possess is this piece of wood."

He ran a finger suggestively down to where the tip of the root met his chest separated by only the fabric of his shirt. I gave him a puzzled look for him to continue despite knowing where he would go with this.

"There is no pointed tip, and while you fight decently enough to have landed us here, the force needed to kill me is too great for you to exert. Not after what I've already put you through," he said, raising his eyebrows to imply more than just the fighting that had taken place. That got a rise out of me but I only knit my brows closer and glared at him. I was definitely going to enjoy this.

"I know I couldn't kill you like this, but I am able to kill you," I spoke boldly. There were already too many things I'd been hiding revealed for me to keep this hidden much longer.

"But," I started. "If I add to this root here," I pointed at the end digging into his chest. "I can get the wood in and pierce your heart. If I wanted to."

His eyes widened in mock surprise at my revelation. I didn't expect anything less from him at all. What made them stay that way was how I was able to do most of what I said. Killing him now would not be in my best interest.

Gathering up the energy I had left, I pushed outwards focusing on the end of the tree root. As Eric watched crystals began forming where the root touched his chest. I pulled up to allow them to come together and form a deadly point.

I let the root and crystals dig in for a while longer, then met Eric's eyes. The same fear I had seen before was hidden behind a growing interest and understanding. If he thought he had me figured out he was dead wrong. And if I thought I could skip town anytime soon, I was wrong, too. It didn't matter, though because I wouldn't go anywhere without Derek by my side now.

I began to let up on the pressure and release the magic I was holding onto. In the process, I noticed I had done more than ruin Eric's shirt, I had made first blood. I couldn't hope that he wouldn't notice because he seemed to notice everything, no matter how insignificant, so I offered to help.

"Here let me fix this," I told Eric while I worked his shirt up above the small wound. I didn't notice it was healing on its own so I began to gather my magic to me in order to repair the damage I had done, all the while, Eric lay prone and silent as he watched me repair his broken skin.

I rubbed my hands together above the wound and focused on the result I wanted. With one hand I made contact with his icy skin and let the magic pulse around it until the pieces were united and whole. As the last pieces came together I started to move my hand away but received a shock, as though electricity were running through his veins and not just magic. I gasped and Eric made some other noise that sounded like grunting before I realized the implications of the shock. I was quickly overcome by emotions I knew were not my own.

Shock, fear, loathing, distrust, heated passion, confusion, bitterness, and even something that seemed like love hit me with the force of a tidal wave. What surprised me more was that everything positive, and only some of the negative emotions were directed at Sookie. With that thought, I understood exactly what I had done and from the looks of it, there was no way to reverse it. I quickly clamped down on my emotions to see if Eric noticed anything different but for now, Sookie seemed to be quite an emotional rollercoaster for him and I went unnoticed.

The last thing that I caught was a feeling I was familiar with, but coming from Eric, frightened me more than knowing I could pick up on his emotions did. It was a possessiveness that only one other person had shown and it was directed at me the first time I'd felt it. Kayden was the one who had ruined my childhood, had torn apart my dreams and innocence like paper for fodder to an inferno. _HE_ had been the one to break me and try to keep my soul locked up in a cage for his infernal pleasure and desire, my own brother. Nothing can prepare you for that most intimate form of betrayal, not even a lover's kiss with someone who isn't you.

As soon as I had control over my emotions I jumped up, releasing Eric from his position on the ground and ran into Derek as I was backpedaling to get away from the vampire I had just created some kind of connection with and the human who was his, for all intents and purposes. My desire to get away, in any direction and capacity didn't go unnoticed, but Derek only grasped my arms gently and folded me into a backward hug, letting me know he had my back and would stay with me. Eric's face was a mask again and Sookie stood, trembling on her front porch. She hadn't moved to stop any of us and she hadn't said anything but perhaps she didn't need to say a word. I readied myself and began to explore the feelings around me until I found the signature that had tied me to Eric's emotions. As I was exploring, Eric had turned his back and begun to stride back to Sookie, but when I found a signature mixing with his own, I dug a little deeper. There was a special feeling about it and this was what I had mistaken for love, but it was just as intense. The only thing I could make of it was that it was pure, deep, and unadulterated. The word that flashed in my mind when I concentrated confused me until I spoke it aloud, testing to see if I could make sense of it.

"Bonded," I whispered quietly to myself. The feel of the word rolling off my lips was enough for me to believe. However Sookie felt or didn't feel about Eric was irrelevant because they were bonded to each other, whatever that meant.

"Mmm?" Derek questioned me lazily, wrapping his arms tighter around me and making me warm.

At the same time, Eric whipped around in our direction again fast as lightning. He unbound Derek's arms from around me and vaulted me up with his hand around my throat. I didn't need confirmation of how small I was in comparison to Eric, but the fact his entire hand could close around my neck with little effort was disconcerting, to say the least. When I thought he was done making his point he proceeded to lift me up into the air along with himself. This was new.

I hadn't even realized how quickly he had come back to grab me, I was still focusing on the fact we were flying. Not levitating, or hovering, definitely flying. I could see Derek fuming on the ground trying to find a way to get up in the air to me and Sookie running off her porch to keep her eyes on us. The unexpected turn in my evening didn't seem to want to end, even when given plenty of opportunities, in my opinion. Evidenced by my growing inability to breathe while being held twenty feet up in the air.

"How do you know about the bond?" Eric growled at me. Manners were not in his forte.

"What bond?" I asked stupidly, gasping for breath while I spoke.

"Don't play games with me," Eric struggled to speak without grinding the words out and an unfamiliar accent laced the words he managed to say. "The bond between Sookie and me, it's something not everybody would know about unless they were there or part of our politics."

I was trying to put together what Eric meant by that when it hit me. The unusually strong feelings I could pick from him, all directed at Sookie, and the other signature mingling with his were all related to this bond thing. What is the bond thing anyway, and why is it so damn important?

"We can answer that for you," Sookie said coming up underneath us while keeping her distance from Derek. I don't blame her, six plus feet of dark hair and brooding usually has that effect on people, but she would know just as much about that considering Eric was a similar height and build to Derek. Change the hair color, and the eyes, and some personality traits and they could be related, maybe. Or maybe not.

Eric gripped my throat tighter and growled at Sookie, clearly unhappy that she had wandered off her porch and into the yard, away from a quick escape. Maybe we were more alike than either of us had realized because I would have done the same thing. Derek would have had the same reaction Eric was having right now with less growling and glowering. If nothing else was the same about any of this, it was the reaction our significant others had toward and for us.

"Eric!" Sookie cried. "She doesn't know anything. Now put her down this instant so we can all work this out and Bill doesn't come scurryin' over here!" She could be so demanding when she wanted something to be done and it wasn't happening fast enough.

Eric reluctantly began to lower us then thought better of it. He turned his head so I only saw the profile and let his fangs slip out menacingly. His eyes glinting in the small amount of moonlight did nothing to calm me. Instead, my fear increased as though I was about to die, and maybe I was. I thought my feelings were intense now, but just as Eric was about to release me and let me fall he hesitated. His eyes fixed on me and widened, a look of shock on his face as realization sunk in for both of us.

"What the fuck did you do?"

I didn't answer, instead, I swung my body back and forth, gathering momentum. Eric held steady and made it more difficult for me to move around. Even though he had loosened his grip around my throat, it was still tight enough that I couldn't get my fingers to pry his hand off of me. I began to take in deep breaths and let them out slowly preparing myself for probably the most foolish thing I had done all evening, aside from trying to tell two complete strangers about my crazy, weird life.

"I'm sorry," I said to Eric while we were struggling in the air. He looked confused but not ready to ask for what and I was grateful. "I really don't want anyone to hate me, but tonight hasn't been the best night for me." I finished as I sucked in a large breath and released it in Eric's direction. The look of confusion from before was still plastered on his face and remained there as his face became surrounded by ice crystals. It was almost comical save for the fact he let me go before I had been ready and I had to quickly create a cushion for me to land on if I didn't want to die.

Derek's green eyes glittered in the dark, hair falling around his face and hiding the emotions I knew were written clearly there. He would be furious with me for pulling that stunt with no practice and in front of what could potentially have been a crowd. He ran over to me and kicked the powdered snow out of his way as he got closer. Sookie was awestruck and couldn't decide where to stare, at me surrounded by snow in the middle of July in Louisiana, or Eric hovering above the ground with ice over his face, trapping him with a single look of confusion and dread.

"That was completely unnecessary, Tristan," Derek spat at me.

I nodded and slowly made my way into a standing position to remind him that even though he was mad, I still outranked him. He was visibly shaking, his black hair trembling like the rest of his body when he finally reached me. At the same time, Eric landed somewhere behind Sookie and she made her way over to him, unsure of how to help. I took a step closer to Derek and started pulling at the energy around me to solidify the powder at our feet into a dome around us. At this point, I figured most of my tricks were out of the bag and there was no amount of talking that could get me out of the trouble I was in. May as well keep Eric away for as long as possible before we have to actually talk again.

"Derek, listen, I-" He put a single finger on my lips to silence me, still fuming and trying not to take it out on me. I understood where he was coming from and I also knew how much self-control it took for him to be able to speak when he was angry so I took the hint. When he was ready he took a few steadying breaths to bring him back to where we were and began to speak.

"I don't care what excuse you have for it this time, but we cannot keep covering this up," he told me, irritated he had to repeat himself from a previous experience.  
"I know, Derek, trust me I do, but these are very different circumstances," I replied half-heartedly.

"What was all of that about?" He asked, ignoring my statement and going straight for the question I couldn't even answer.

"I don't know," I said.

"Well, you must know something."

"You got me," I laughed bitterly. "I know the secrets of the universe."

He smiled a little at that then encompassed me in a tight hug that was inescapable and safe and warm. Everything I loved about him was all in that gesture. His ability to forgive me, even when I had made horrendously stupid mistakes and to take me for who I was instead of who he wanted me to be. Despite all our differences we were two halves of a whole. I was convinced of that and there was nothing and no one that could make me believe otherwise.

"Impressive, considering the lack of practice," Derek told me before letting me go. I scoffed at him and made a face.

"How did you know?"

"The style you used earlier," he answered. "It's what I taught you to use when you had exhausted yourself in battle already."

We stepped apart from each other, still holding our hands when a loud crashing sound made me jump. Eric had apparently removed the ice from his face and was attempting to break through the barrier of ice that separated us. Even though it was at least three inches thick, he was making progress and with the way his face was repairing itself from the damage he'd inflicted from removing the ice, my concentration slipped. I was mesmerized and confused by what I was witnessing and didn't keep my hold on the particular trick I was using and the ice melted into water that soaked the ground around Derek and me, and Eric's left arm.

Sookie gasped and took a step back, having never witnessed anything like it before as far as I knew. Eric paused because he could no longer assault the barricade that had been before him. In no act of self-preservation, I stepped forward toward the raging, homicidal vampire to stare at his face reconstructing itself and knitting the final layers of skin together, revealing the face I was beginning to be uncomfortably familiar with.

Derek quickly ran in front of me, guarding me against the imposing vampire while putting himself in harm's way. If anyone was going to be doing the stupid today/tonight, it was going to be me. I tugged on Derek's shirt trying to move him back but he planted himself firmly in front of me. If he was going to be stubborn then I would offer a distraction so that hopefully the anger Eric was feeling didn't get directed at Derek. I didn't think he could be anything like Kayden, but I didn't want to test my luck any more than I already had.

"How did you do that?" I asked sincerely and rather dumbfounded. It really was very similar to what I could do, but I had never applied the technique to myself, and I think that it worked differently for me, anyway.

The distraction did little to stop Eric's forward movement but it did give him pause. As he strode forward and stopped in front of Derek an arms-length away, he answered my question.

"That," he said while gesturing to his face, "is part of what I can do, being a vampire."

He gave me a look after that insinuated a "wouldn't you like to know" and "I can show you later" attitude. I continued to stare but kept glancing between the two men in front of me, unsure of what the next move would be, and from whom. I should have known it would be from Eric because I knew Derek was trying to assess the damage I had done and get me out quickly and quietly before anyone else became involved. Most things never happen that way, though, they have a tendency to go the opposite way of what we would like.

Quicker than I could see again, Eric took off into the sky, this time with Derek in tow. He was powerless to help himself because he had nothing up his sleeve like I did, and as Sookie had mentioned before, if we continued this outside in the open, anyone could come along and see the spectacle unfolding in the bitter reaches of the night. I didn't have many options left myself, and seeing as I was going for the home run in stupidville awards, I may as well make it memorable.

"Hey," I shouted up at Eric. "You bring him back down this instant!"

Eric chuckled and looked disdainfully down at me inching higher just to push my buttons.

"And who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?" he asked me, still holding Derek's arms tightly to his sides.

"That's none of your business," I grumbled to myself as I raced through my head for what I could do that would get both of them down here without doing too much harm to Derek. Finally hitting on the worst idea yet, I changed my position on the ground beneath them slightly and yelled up at Eric, "Bring him down unharmed, and I won't do anything to Sookie."

Eric scoffed at me but began to look more seriously at the situation. If he wanted to threaten what I cared about, I could do the same thing. Following through on those actions would be an entirely different line for me because I try not to make threats I can't enforce. I was nothing like my brother that way. Although he never made idle threats either, I almost wished he would so that he wouldn't enforce them and wreak havoc on me and the people I cared about.

"Excuse me?" Sookie chimed in. She had been silent through most of this and it had made it easy to forget she was involved at all sometimes. Maybe that was her superpower? It seemed highly unlikely given the amount of trouble I had heard she'd been in before I had even arrived.

"You'll do what to me exactly?" Sookie asked me, looking between the two large men in the sky, her front porch, and me in turn.

I sighed and thought bitterly to myself, 'something stupid you probably won't even want to do' then I looked up at her and said, "You don't want to find out, sweetheart."

Sookie smiled, a crazy grin she reserved for customers that either were too hands on or irritated her for some reason. "We'll see about that," she told me calmly while she planted her feet and stood her ground. I was beginning to think that she really was crazy but the understanding I gathered from talking with her was that she was gifted somehow and that was what made her so different to everyone else. I couldn't figure out what her gift was, but it didn't matter right now if I could get Derek out safe and we could move on.


	5. Chapter 5

Unfortunately, now I had to split my concentration between what Eric may do and what Sookie might do. I wasn't sure if she could even do anything. She had no weapon I could see and there was nothing within her reach she could turn into one. Her best bet was to come at me head on and that wouldn't do anything if I was prepared for it. Just a twist of my wrist and she could be stuck in two feet of snow and ice on her way to me, but that wouldn't be fair considering she was still in her work uniform. A sheet of ice on the ground maybe? Then she could only fall and hurt herself, which wouldn't leave me completely blameless, but at less fault than a Louisiana girl who didn't know anything about snow and ice.

If it wasn't clear before, I have an affinity for water in all its forms and capacities. Steam burn? Frostbite? Yeah, those were easy. Steam was a little harder for me because I work best with liquid and solid water. It's the magic I was born possessing and have spent the last eight years running from. This is my destiny but also my curse. Destined to rule a planet of alien strangers who owed me allegiance because my parents were the sovereign monarchs who won their fealty, and I was trying to act like a normal human being running from my responsibilities. I have to say I was doing a pretty good job so far.

As I kept going through all the things I could do to detain Sookie while still keeping Eric's attention and trying to help Derek I began to grow nervous. What if Sookie actually could do something to me? Was she a telepath, or something else? It was possible but she seemed so normal when we had talked before, I couldn't imagine her being anything special like I was. How could she be?

I decided to go with something that would save Sookie from getting hurt too badly but would also allow me to maneuver her if I needed. I gathered my thoughts and focused on the powder beneath me that had cushioned my fall and spread it out in a layer of water. It hardened as I concentrated on it and Sookie noticed that it was beneath her feet as well. I may be clumsy normally but when it comes to water, I have always had a balance that goes unmatched.

Sookie tried to move forward and began to slide around helplessly. She quickly regained her balance and planted her feet more firmly on the ground. She shot me a glare then looked up at the sky, just as helpless as I was to get Eric and Derek down. As he was tracking them both in the sky I looked up too, trying to keep them in my sights as well as Sookie. That was easier said than done because Eric hovered just above me to where my eyes could not see. I lifted my head to keep tracking and took my eyes off of Sookie for only a moment.

In that moment, I felt like I was on fire. It was a feeling I was familiar with and it terrified me. I looked down and saw electricity coming off my body, but not flames. I panicked and shot streams of water out around me like whips. I felt one connect with something and I tugged a little harder, then heard a smack on the sheet of ice I stood on. The electricity stopped after that and I was able to look around me. Sookie was on the ground holding her head and moaning, and I could feel the wind from Eric's approach as he sped to the ground to check on Sookie, dragging Derek with him. I refocused my thoughts and created a barrier around Sookie and myself keeping both men out.

Although this was not what I wanted, I was able to make my point clearly to Eric, and hopefully, no harm would come to Derek while I postured and played in order to get him back next to me. Sookie didn't appear to be bleeding but I went to her to check for signs of a concussion because I really didn't want to hurt her.

"Sookie," I said calmly bending down to one knee to look her in the eyes. "How are you feeling? Are you dizzy at all, or confused?" I asked as I moved to put two fingers up in front of her eyes to follow. She didn't respond to me and instead groaned like she had the world's worst hangover. I hadn't seen her fall but if it had been hard it would definitely feel the same as a hangover.

"Sookie?" I asked again. Still nothing.

"You bitch."

"What?" I asked, confused by why I was a bitch when I was trying to help her and make sure she wasn't going to have any brain damage.

"I don't understand, Sookie," I stated while moving closer to check her pupils for dilatation. "What did I do?"

"You knocked me over!" Sookie screamed at me as she thrust her hands toward me in what I assumed was a maneuver to get me away from her. I was wrong. The instant her hands touched me on each shoulder the electricity was back and every nerve was on fire. The lack of flames didn't frighten me this time, but the knowledge that Sookie had a power at all, and this as a power particularly scared me.

I felt each pulse of electricity course through me with no way to stop it. Water was a great conductor for electricity and I was afraid that if I tried to do anything to her, it would affect me too. My barrier was on the fritz and had nearly come crashing down twice while I lay on the ground, twitching and unable to defend myself after Sookie's hands were off of me and electricity still flooded my system. Having to split my concentration was weakening me faster than I had thought possible and as my head jerked to the side I caught sight of Derek on the other side of the barrier. He was screaming my name and trying to break through to me to help me in some way.

I finally gave up on keeping Eric out and focused on keeping my body working while I was being electrified by Sookie. I couldn't tell if she was tiring just as quickly but I knew that if she didn't stop soon I would pass out, and with the way tonight had gone I wanted to stay conscious as long as I possibly could. I could hear Derek's heavy footfalls and his raspy voice calling my name, hoarse from shouting through the ice for me to hear.

Just when I was ready to give up, I heard Sookie's panting. The effort she was putting in must have been tremendous, or I was more than a match for her. That thought gave me hope, and I tried to keep my thoughts from scattering with every charge she sent through me. I pictured her face at work, the smile she had for all her friends and tried to reconcile it with the look of distrust and fright she had shown me before doing this. I remembered her hands as they touched me before she sent this energy through me to whatever end she was hoping for and the sheet of ice beneath us cracked. It was loud and startling, enough to cause Sookie to lose her concentration and the hold she had on me with it.

With that crack, I allowed myself to fully feel what she was doing to me and amplified the electricity by turning the ice back into water. My body convulsed and writhed as I allowed Sookie to give it her all, electrifying every nerve and cell in my body, and then I pushed her away from me creating a barrier to regain my strength and self-control.

On my side of the barrier, Derek stood above me, panting slightly and looking far more concerned than I liked to see him. I took a few deep breaths and stared him straight in the face. From this angle, he was upside down and on top of me, sort of. He crouched down and caressed my face, rubbing his thumb along my cheek and lips while holding my jaw in place.

"Don't ever do that to me again."

I nodded, unable to say much of anything and hoping he could forgive me for the major mistakes I had made this time around. I wouldn't blame him if he wouldn't but I couldn't say I wouldn't be upset if he didn't forgive me either. He was everything that made me feel safe and all that I would ever want in my whole existence. I would fight to my last breath to keep him safe and by my side, if I had to, and that was what made him so cautious around me, the knowledge that I would lay down my life for his when I was so much more important than he was in the scheme of things.

Derek was only a warrior. A damn good one at that, but I was royalty, and in the food chain that made me more important and theoretically, meant that I would let him die for me. I wasn't willing to give him up. Derek was my protector, the person who helped me make sense of all the changes that had surrounded me and gave me a sense of belonging and purpose. I loved him, and I was not going to give that up simply because he was 'less than me' in his political standing.

I rolled over onto all fours and pushed against my knees to rise again. Derek stood in front of me now and stared openly, assessing me for any signs of outward damage and decided that I appeared fine. He stepped closer to me and took my hand. I squeezed him back and turned to face Sookie and Eric on the other side of my barrier. This had to happen and it had to happen now before it went too far out of hand.

They looked like they were in a serious discussion and from the way Sookie appeared, she was at her end and close to tears. Still holding Derek's hand I walked forward dismantling the barrier with each step. I didn't allow it to crack or crash down in a wave that would have soaked almost all of us, instead, I allowed the particles and molecules to become part of the atmosphere again, causing the already sticky night to become almost unbearable. Eric and Sookie ceased their conversation as soon as they were able to see without the haze and flicker of standing water between us. I came to a stop about five feet from the couple opposite me, and Derek stood next to me on my left, creating mirror images with differences similar to those in Hidden Pictures magazines. Height, facial features, hair color. Those kinds of differences.

The air around the four of us was tense, and I was nervous to talk first but I felt that I had the most reason to apologize, despite my being attacked earlier. "Sookie," I started. My words faltered and I wasn't sure what to say. "I'm sorry, this really got out of hand rather quickly and I don't expect you to understand my reasoning or my actions, but I want you to know I wasn't trying to do anything to you."

She started at me for what seemed forever and I guess she could sense the truth in my words because she said, "Okay." We continued our staring idly and Sookie began to yawn. We would have to wrap this up soon and I couldn't say I wanted to drag this out, but I wanted to be sure there were no hard feelings. "Could we maybe go inside?" I asked. "Get this straightened out and decide where to go from there?"

Sookie nodded mutely and turned around to march her way back inside. Eric followed reluctantly and gave Derek and me a wide berth to keep us in his sights. I didn't blame him either but I couldn't say I enjoyed being watched like a prisoner. I mentally shook that thought away and gave myself a mini pep talk to get myself focused and on the right track. Derek pushed me ahead of him creating a distance between myself and Eric, protecting me yet again when I didn't feel it was necessary. I sighed and trudged up the steps and into the living room where Sookie was waiting for the rest of us.

I scooted to the end of the couch and Derek followed me and sat next to me but allowed enough room that we could have our own cushions if we wanted. I snuggled closer to him, taking in the comfort of his presence and steeling myself for the conversation we were about to have. Just knowing Derek was there and that he supported me through this was a relief I couldn't put into words if I tried. Through all of the things I had endured I hadn't had a companion like Derek and I didn't think I could replace him if it ever came to that. Sookie seemed almost numb now with exhaustion and determination. I don't know what had made her that way or if I was the sole cause, but I took that into consideration when Eric finally came to sit down in the chair across from Sookie and directly in front of me. Oddly enough, I hadn't felt any twinges or emotion or thought or whatever it was that I had felt before. I would table that for later to think about.

"Should I go first, or would you like a chance to tell your story?" I asked Sookie, looking into her eyes and decidedly ignoring Eric altogether. She was quite for a moment while she considered my question and the offer it presented her, a chance to gather herself and decided what she wanted us to know about her life but also prolonging her ability to learn more about me, and in turn Derek. She decided to speak first.

We sat back and listened to a much-abbreviated version of the first night she met a vampire, her neighbor Bill Compton, and all of the adventures being drawn into the vampire world had bestowed her with. Adventures were putting it mildly and nicely and when she came to the part about being bonded to Eric she allowed me to ask about the circumstances. After gaining more knowledge on that subject (had I somehow tapped into that bond?) she came to her fairy heritage and their involvement in her most recent stint through the ringer.

Hearing about the fairy bounty hunters/assassins Lochlan and Neave I felt a sympathy for the girl. I must have let that show on my face because she became clipped and short with her answers after that. Not only had she been part of a few secret wars, she was abducted and tortured. Something I could relate with, to an extent. She then explained about the recent estrangement between herself, the were-folk in Shreveport, and by extension, Eric. Though she briefly touched on the visit and final demise of Eric's maker, Appius Livius Ocella, I could tell there was more to that visit but we weren't going to find out tonight.

"What she hasn't mentioned," Eric began in a serious tone, "I have been betrothed to a vampire regent, the Queen of Oklahoma at the behest of my maker, Appius Livius Ocella." I let that sink in. That was a whole mess I didn't want to involve myself in, to any degree, but I was wondering if I would have a choice at this point. I couldn't help asking, "What are you, then, I mean if you aren't a regent yourself?"

The idea of vampires having their own system of government among themselves wasn't too surprising, but it was news to me. Eric regarded me carefully before answering, a look of contempt bordering on disgust apparent on his face. Chiseled cheekbones and angelic jawline be damned on him if he wanted to make me feel inadequate at all.

"I am a vampire Sheriff of Area Five, where we reside in northern Louisiana." Well, then. If that didn't say everything I ever wanted to know. Although it was putting pieces together for me about Sookie's involvement and subsequent use of the cluviel dor sometime in the recent past. Using the object to save Sam's life rather than to disengage Eric from his situation was the rift between them despite their obvious feelings and apparently being married by vampire law. If Sookie's life hadn't been so strange I would have told you that I would take the cake for "events that can't even begin to be covered by 'what-if' scenarios" due to my personal history.

"So, I'm guessing there is no feasible way for you to become unengaged then?" I asked Eric directly. If he was giving out useful information I may as well acknowledge him and make use of it. Eric shook his head decisively and shrugged as an after effect. That must have been what was so important that he wanted to talk to Sookie personally.

"I have no choice but to go to Oklahoma and become the Queen's consort if I want to keep existing, and ensure the safety of my progeny's and Sookie, of course." Sookie's eyes grew about three sizes it seemed and were almost bugging out of her head. Yeah, definitely did not want to be involved in this and somehow, I had managed to get myself drug in. Typical.

"You mean to tell me," started Sookie. This was not going to end well at all if it ended at all. "That you came all the way here, to my family's home to tell me that you're leaving me?" Sookie was livid and her cracking voice accentuated how highly strung she was about this little fact. I cringed inwardly and glanced at Derek. None of this concerned him, or me for that matter. We were caught in the current of events, simply because of my poor decisions leading us here. I was sorrier now than I had ever been that I left in the first place, trying to protect and save everything I held dear when we could have saved each other and grown in the process.

Sookie shot daggers at Eric and he quickly moved to her side, trying to placate her and calm her before she had a full blown fit. Too late, I thought. She was well on her way to having one and I thought that it would do her some good if she was so attached that she felt heartbroken and crestfallen over this big reveal. I certainly couldn't speak for her and Derek wasn't about to draw attention to us if he could help it.

Sookie blinked and tried to keep the tears from streaming down her face. They were angry and hurt tears, punctuated by exasperation at being the last one to know. I had been there and I hated how it felt, almost enough to speak up for her, but empathy would get me nowhere right now and sympathy doesn't look so good when you are trying to be an unobtrusive but unwelcomed house guest. Yay, me!

"You know what I want to know Eric?" Sookie asked no one in particular. "I want to know if you ever had real feelings for me or if it was all some elaborate plan of yours! You know how my life has been since a vampire first walked into it, so tell me now, did you ever love me?" Eric looked astonished and abashed but he wouldn't let that stop him from speaking apparently. "How could you doubt my love for you? Lover, I have bled for you, I would even have given up my existence for you and you still need to ask me if I loved you at all? That my feelings are true?"

No mention of his high hopes for her special fairy object to erase his maker's devious deed to control him past the grave. Not a note of contrition for feeling worthy of such a gift being used, had she chosen to. Humility was not a strong suit I was beginning to see, and it wasn't just an act that brought about that idea.

"I don't know what to tell you, Eric, I feel used."

As exciting as this lover's quarrel was not turning out to be, I had to establish my being here and Derek finding me before I could feel decent in leaving them to sort out their problems on their own.

"I don't mean to butt in, I actually would rather let you finish your evening without us here at all," I said slowly. "But I know that what I have to say is almost as important as everything the two of you need to say to each other." Or not, I added silently. They both turned and looked at me with questioning gazes. Eric had more fire in his eyes, and Sookie looked like she would rather crawl in a hole and hide for a week or two rather than face Eric's choices and what I knew she needed to hear from me.


	6. Chapter 6

Derek laid his hand upon my knee, just resting it in a reassuring gesture and helped me ease into my talking points. I hadn't realized that I had talking points until I decided what was most important to say.

"First off, I am different, maybe more different than either one of you realize." That seemed like the safest way to go. "Since you admitted to me that you are a telepath, Sookie, I realize now why you've seemed so intuitive. What I wonder is how well you can hear my thoughts. Is it similar to how you hear shifters and Were's, where my thoughts are hazy and you get more of a feeling or are they scrambled and difficult to piece together? Either way, it doesn't matter I'm just curious. "

"Actually, you are very similar to shifters and Weres. I thought that was just what you were. Are you saying that you're something else?" I nodded to Sookie's question.

"I am so very much something else, it can't even be considered funny." Just to make a liar out of me, Derek sniggered and began to cough to cover up his indiscretion. I glared at him sideways but didn't comment.

"From a young age I knew I was adopted, the parents I grew up with saw no point in hiding that fact from me, but where I was from wasn't revealed to me until I had almost graduated high school. Derek, actually came and found me, but not to tell me anything about myself. It's sort of confusing and convoluted."

Derek took over for me for a spell. "Yes, I actually came in her brother's stead. He wanted information on his missing sister and he sent me to find it, and eventually her. I didn't know then that I couldn't go through with turning her over, I hadn't met her and discovered how truly special she is, among her kind and apart from all the other supernaturals." Sookie looked confused by this.

"Wait, so does that mean you're fey? Are you a fairy?" She asked me specifically. I laughed but not harshly.

"No, I'm not fey, though I've spent some time with different supernaturals across the country, or rather the continent," I answered honestly. So that must be how she was royalty. She was a fairy princess!

"The wolf pack in Bear Valley was very generous to me while I was hiding, and even got me in contact with their personal witch contacts, who by the way are very kind ladies. The fey I did meet were different." I hedged. "In Huntsdale, they have regents or monarchs for each court. The only one I didn't meet was the High Queen, but the Summer court was fun and frivolous, the Dark court was frighteningly fun, and I learned as much as I could from Winter. She was particularly helpful with my talents and abilities. From what I've come to understand, they may be an entirely different type of fey than can be found around the rest of the supernatural world, but iron and steel still make them sick. Not too sure about lemons, though."

Both Sookie and Eric stared in disbelief that any such creatures could exist, but it shouldn't have been so hard to grasp. They had both had their share of odds and ends were thrown at them from the supernatural gambit and I was willing to bet different dimensions were in there somewhere, at least in the back of their minds. I continued when they had nothing to say about either of my short visits with local-in-other-places supes.

"Anyway, I have been all across the continent looking for somewhere inconspicuous and generally out of the way at the same time. I've spent enough time freezing my ass off in the Arctic Circle that I decided humidity would do me some good since I can still manipulate it to the same effect and degree as anything else that contains water." Now they had questions, well Sookie did anyway.

"How do you do it, control water?" she asked doubtfully.

"For me it's easy. I wouldn't say it's like your telepathy were you have to focus on not making it happen, but I can feel the latent possibilities depending on how hydrated I keep myself, and what is around me. If I absolutely need to, I can take nourishment from plants, animals, and people, to survive. It was one of the things that drove me from the cold north, I didn't want to kill everything I came across for sustenance. " I had to clarify that, too.

"I'm still partly human, I think that is why you can still hear my thoughts, but I can't be sure." I really didn't know if she would be able to read my thoughts once I had completely changed over. There was no word for it that I knew could describe it better than becoming. "I am still becoming, that is, when I'm done figuring out how to harness my abilities, and use them to my benefit, I guess, I will stop being human and revert back to my previous form. Or evolve into, I'm not one hundred percent on the specifics, and neither is Derek, who has had all the answers for me in regards to this."

"Revert?" Asked Eric. "Evolve?" Asked Sookie. "So you're not a demon either?" More news to mull over when I got a chance, but for now, back burner.

"Ah, no, not a demon. Actually a celestial body, or being. I'm from a different planet." My short sentence hung in the hair like dirty linen and I could tell it was difficult to process and understand to everyone but Derek and myself. "If it helps or hinders, Derek is also from a different planet, and also not the same one I am from."

"What?!" they both shrieked. Maybe shrieked is too strong a word. Exclaim would be more correct.

"Okay, maybe that was a little too direct. We are aliens. Extra-terrestrials. Beings from other planets, because yes, there is life out there," I said politely but still with a bite to it. I was living proof of that, and so was Derek for that matter.

Eric and Sookie sat there chewing on that thought for a little bit while I let them absorb the new information. It was a lot to take in for them, despite being so entrenched in the supernatural world. Realistically how much bigger of a step was it to believe that there was life beyond the Earth, especially with proof sitting right in front of you? Extremely, apparently, since they were still mulling over our words nearly three minutes later. I realize that isn't much time to processes something on this scale, but I needed them to understand the situation they were putting themselves in by even being around me. Again, my poor decisions lead to this and I had to shoulder the responsibility for it, but that doesn't mean that I enjoyed it, not in the least.

"Back to what I was saying, that needed to be preceded by that revelation," I began. I had their full attention now. Whatever thought they were in the middle of processing, they stopped to look at me, encouraging me to speak again. It was strange to see Eric looking at me in encouragement, but I wouldn't worry about that right now.

"I am from another planet far from where the Earth sits, pretty much across the universe, and I am royalty and expected to take the throne in my parents' stead." They stared trying to figure out exactly how far that was from here and decided to just listen to everything before being flabbergasted and awestruck by what I was and where I was from. "This planet is inhabited by a simple people, and we are surrounded by ice and water. Not many of my people have magic, and the royal family has never, in the history that was passed down to each of us, had any magic until I was conceived. My mother's family carries magic in their blood and that is why I can control and manipulate that element so specifically."

"Her father worked as a designer, but was never commissioned by the royal family, and it was a chance meeting in the market place that brought my parents together. The rest of my race, they make small crafts and utilities and we trade for what we need to survive if we cannot gather or create it ourselves."

I paused to give them some time to breathe and to prepare myself. What I was about to say was not easy for me, and as difficult as admitting it was, it was harder still when I had to explain my squalid past to perfect strangers. Unfortunately, it had to be done.

"I am the youngest in the royal family, and in our tradition, I will be the heir to the throne. When I reach the age of one thousand and seven hundred I will be able to claim the throne for my own, with no need for a match or consort. But I can claim my birthright if I have found a match that is suitable before then and is nobility in some right. I'm hoping to change that because I don't want to wait to be with Derek and care for my people. This also means my oldest sibling and half-brother will have no control over me."

Derek took my hand and held it firmly. He didn't do anything more than that and I was beyond grateful. I knew I was stalling myself, but to utter those words once again, would make them permanent, make them real. I knew I couldn't hide from this forever, but I sure as hell wanted to try.

"My two older siblings," I started cautiously. "They are both my blood-kin, but my brother is not my father's child. He is a product of my mother's capture and subsequent torture. In my parents' foolishness, they chose to tell our people that he was their first child and had been conceived before they were wed. They named my brother Kayden because they believed that if they gave him a name that was strong, he would overcome his beginnings as a bastard child and do great things. Their second child, my full sister has no powers and is named Adria. She is far from dark, but she was certainly an unknown for my parents because this was the first test they would have of their offspring. When I was born, I was told that my parents couldn't have been happier. My sister too, but my brother was in a foul mood. He had just begun learning about our culture and how the throne and power are passed down through the generations. I was named for our goddess of light and hope, and that was what I should have been to my people, a hope for a new and bright future that was less polluted with violence and outside trade, where we were utterly defenseless."

"When I was learning to read and write, Kayden was advancing in his lessons and began showing exceptional skill in weapons and battle strategies. It was truly no surprise because the race of his father is a strong and commanding people. They can create many great things, but they are known for overthrowing and controlling weaker nations, and peoples. They were trying to control my home planet at the time of my mother's abduction. It was a revenge on my father for being able to withstand their forces and keep peace throughout the kingdom. There is also a small amount of their population that has magic and the ability to manipulate things, particularly fire."

"Oh, no," said Sookie, shaking her head in disbelief. I knew her heart was breaking over these circumstances, and I knew now she must be imagining whatever she thought my mother looked like, and the torture she endured at the hands of Kayden's father. Imagining herself in the same position with Lochlan and Neave. I nodded back and continued with my narrative.

"My brother had the latent ability but it was never trained at home. We didn't know he could do anything at all, so we sent him to train and release his, um, troubles and cares in our military. He must have been found by his father, who rules that planet I had mentioned, and taken in while our forces were destroyed because of everything that happened when he returned at my announcement ceremony. It was so many years later, and we just, we didn't know. They didn't know," I stammered out, but my breaths were coming quicker now and I was having difficulty putting my thoughts in order. Derek held me tighter then and moved his arm around me consoling me. I'm sure to Eric I looked like a young and foolish child, whining about something insignificant but this was not insignificant or to be minimized. This was my past and something I had to come to terms with.

"My brother disliked how the power would shift within our family at my coming of age. He liked to be in control of absolutely everything, including me. When I was only three years old, he taught me to bring him his food from across the room, and whatever else interested him. I became his slave. As a young child I had no reason to fear him or believe he wanted to hurt me, but as we got older, things became less innocent. I wouldn't just bring him food, I would 'fight' with him or we would create games that at first were meant to teach me about our society, but would later become a torture in their own way."

Sookie looked extremely uncomfortable at the turn in this story, and I couldn't blame her. I wasn't comfortable either. What my brother did was sickening, and she hadn't even heard the half of it.

"If I disobeyed my brother while we were alone, he hit me. It wasn't until my parents asked what had happened to my arms and back that I realized what Kayden was doing wasn't proper. As we got older his demands of me became more inappropriate. He wanted to 'Show me what suitors would look for' about me and teach me how to make them happy." I couldn't help it, I began to cry. "I honestly thought he was trying to help me, but at three years, or five years, even seven and eight years old I was naïve and easy to fool. Adria tried to save me from a great deal of it, she offered herself as an instrument to keep me safe, and even she wasn't enough."

I let the tears stream down my face, a mixture of the hot and salty water that people exude when they feel grief or distress, and cool, fresh tracks that were more like dew. Changing was becoming more and more difficult to control and made it more important for me to find a way back to my people. I needed their community and support to get me through this and Derek, too. I cried as quietly as possible but I knew that everything was much louder due to the late hour. I snuck a glance at the clock on the wall and found it was a quarter after four. If Eric wasn't going to spend the night, he would have to leave soon. I didn't know which I would prefer, and I wasn't sure it mattered either way.

"I begged her not to spare me, because, with Adria, he was more violent. He broke her once, an arm I think." I forcefully closed my eyes and held my tears in. "If I had been older, or Kayden had stayed longer before being sent to train and exert his aggressions in a productive manner, I would have been forced to marry him and carry his children. It was something I didn't learn until I was much older, but it gave me nightmares that I still can't stop having. For a short seventeen years, I had some peace, because I didn't remember any of it."

"Why would you have had to marry him? He was your own brother," Sookie asked with a questioning gaze and dread in her voice. In a normal society on Earth, nobody marries their siblings and the thought of it was distressing her visibly. "How could you have no memory?" Eric asked more pointedly.

"I had no memory because that was my mother's magic, she could manipulate almost anything around her. She made me young again and locked away my memories until I was a certain age. I expected she was supposed to be there to ease me through this and have everything figured out so that I wouldn't be running for my life every few months, and I would have had a "normal life" by most people's standards. That didn't work out for her though…or my father. And to answer your question Sookie, it would have been because we were both royalty. It would have been a peace platform to unite the nations civilly and maintain outside trade without having bounties on our ships at every crossing. I don't see how it could have worked, not with the way Kayden acted, but it would have been my only option if I wanted to stay where I was, at home."

Derek's fingers tightened around my arm, making me painfully aware of how he felt on the subject. I couldn't blame him for feeling that way, but I did look over to let him know my arm could not say the same. He loosened his grip and began to stroke my back, warming me with every pass. Sookie sat in shock, the look of horror glazed on her face. Eric looked more impassive and coolly collected while taking this in, but I was sure he was intrigued by now. Regardless of his feelings about me, I had an interesting history and I didn't seem to be more than twenty five, at best. It would throw almost anyone for a loop.

Sookie shook herself out of her stupor and got up to walk down the hall in search of something. Eric had become so deep in thought, he didn't notice her leaving until she had returned with fresh linens. I stared, confused at the pile in her hands. She was going to let us stay here, after everything I had dropped on her and the danger it put her in? She must be severely deficient mentally, or she truly was a saint.

Eric immediately rose and glided to her across the living room. It was some combination of flying and moving faster than I could see and appeared to be gliding to me. He was shooting daggers from his eyes at the pile of linens in her hands as if to imply by looks alone that they should just disappear into whatever crevice they had come from so he wouldn't have to see them anymore. It would have been amusing if I didn't know how desperately he wanted us to leave. That feeling I had before we had come back in the house had returned, slowly, but I wasn't sure if I was picking up on the emotions swirling throughout the room, or the ones that tied me directly to Eric, and in turn, Sookie.

I focused my attention on the tug of hurt, and anger to see where it was emanating from. I wasn't sure if I could distinguish between Sookie and Eric, but I was leaning toward Eric because the anger was red hot and made my skin crawl. I wasn't sure all of it was directed at me and Derek, considering he had come all this way to tell Sookie he would be leaving for Oklahoma soon, and if she wanted to be a fuck toy, come along. Suddenly I didn't want to be feeling this anymore, I wanted to be alone with myself, or rather alone in my skin. Being tied to people I had no control over, or no connection with was exhausting and I couldn't understand why it had happened or who would choose this over being completely alone with themselves. If I wasn't careful, I would begin to show signs that I was reacting to these whirlwind emotions instead of separating them and analyzing each aspect of the whole. It still didn't matter that I was connected somehow, just that I was, and now I needed to figure out how to break this connection before it drove me mad.

Similarly to Eric, I was left behind on the couch while Derek was shown the upstairs bedroom Amelia had made and got the bed ready for us to rest in. As much as I wanted a happy and long reunion with my lover and my friend, I knew that we both needed to be at the top of our game and to throw away the chance to sleep peacefully would have been reckless and foolish. Eric was staring at me across the room and I wasn't sure what he was thinking about. Was he deciding how to kill me and hide my body before Derek came back down to retrieve me? Was he trying to figure out how to send us away without upsetting Sookie? I didn't know and I mostly didn't care. I was too tired to figure out his complicated mess and I had my own problems to deal with when my eyes opened in the new day.

I rose slowly and somewhat stiffly. Derek would have to stretch with me and limber me out if I was going to be worth my weight to fight again. I knew I could use the practice but I was dreading the time I would have to put in the next day. It would hurt, I would ache, and Derek would push me on. It was well worth it to be prepared, though, and I resigned myself to getting up with him when the time came.

I walked cautiously around the living room, trying to take in all the details. I knew this stay was temporary, like so many others had been, so I wanted to remember the little things and tie them to Sookie. I knew the house was a reflection of generations, but she too was exactly that. Generations of Stackhouse's had compiled many of the furnishings and decorations that adorned the home and just as many had come together to create Sookie. As much as I was unsure of the girl, I knew her heart of gold would set almost everything aside, if her life wasn't dependent upon it, to help those in need. It was something I admired in her and wanted to emulate to my people.

When I reached the doorway where Eric stood he stepped in front of me. His presence took up a lot of space, and that was saying something considering it was wide enough to fit a set of French doors. I stood my ground and stared up into his face. I didn't want to meet his eyes, I was too afraid of what I would find there. Hate, judgement, fear. They all would have the same effect on me. I was waiting for the warning from him of how we should just leave, it would keep Sookie safer. I had nothing to come back with from that if he said it, but I would stay because she had asked me to. I would protect her if I could, she had been kind to me after she discovered my truths.

Instead, he continued to glare at me, carefully not meeting my eyes either. Curious. Not interesting enough for me to ponder, though, and I moved to go around him and up the stairs. Sookie must have helped Derek set up the bed. I wondered if they had talked at all, the house seemed eerily silent. Before I could get completely past him, Eric's hand shot out and gripped my arm just above my elbow. It was a grip that was difficult to get out of for the best trained people, which I was not. I sighed heavily and stopped my movement.

"You need to fix this, you cannot leave until I am whole again," Eric commanded me. I stood defiantly and glared at his boot. I could feel myself getting riled up and I needed to calm myself before I did something rash.

"I need to do no such thing for you. I need to free myself," I answered slowly. He stared at his hand gripping me and spoke again. "I do not care about your freedom, I want to be with Sookie. I love her." The last bit he said so quietly I wasn't sure I had heard it at all but the look had changed on his face to confirm that small truth.

"I can see that you do, but I cannot be bound to anyone without consequences. I am not even sure how it came to pass that we are bound together now. In a moment of charity, I tried to repair your wounded body because of something I inflicted. Had I known you could heal yourself, I would not have done it, and perhaps, we would not be in this mess," I chastised him. So what if he wanted to be free to go after Sookie's affections, why should I care? But I did somehow. I wasn't sure if I wanted to protect her from his selfishness that had been revealed, or if I wanted to mold him to my own purpose. I didn't know that I could do either, to be honest, and I shouldn't have been thinking about it at all.

"What have you done to me?" Eric asked quietly. I wasn't sure what he was asking so I cocked my head to the side and looked up at him. When I met his eyes I tried to take a step back, astonished at what I saw there. Forgetting he held my arm as he did, I wrenched my shoulder and let out a pained gasp just loud enough to reach his ears. Immediately he released me and drew me to him in a comforting gesture that was so at odds with what I had seen and learned about him. To have the Viking vampire coddling me in his lovers' home was conundrum enough, without adding my lover to the mix preparing a bed for us to lie in.

I went rigid in his arms and set my focus on the shiny button of his pocket flap. It was supposed to look like tarnished brass and it had a design etched on to it and was stamped into the leather flap at the top of the pocket. It was much darker than Eric's hair, straw colored and pale as the moon. Oh, goddess no! Don't let me think about his hair because then I'll think about his eyes, the way he looked into mine. The lust he was exuding from his very pores it seemed. Dammit all if I hadn't just stared at the bloody wall. This was just not working for me.

"Eric," I said gently as I could. "Eric, you need to let me go. I don't understand what has happened here anymore than you do, but I am going to find out. Sookie is yours, and Derek is mine. Remember that."

At my voice, his body had stiffened, and it hadn't been entirely unpleasant. That was beside the point and I needed to remove myself before anything else happened that couldn't be taken back. I moved to leave and step out of his arms when Eric grabbed my hand. I hadn't noticed his fangs slip out so when he brought my hand to his face it was a shock to feel the stab at my fingertip, tasting me and what was intimate and meant for a relationship that was not ours. I shuddered at the feeling of his tongue darting out to catch the blood that had escaped and seal the small puncture his fang had made. It was euphoric, exotic, and paradisiacal. I shouldn't want more, but I did.

With that thought striking all the wrong notes in my head, I pulled away, albeit reluctantly. Eric leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Your bouquet is exquisite. I never thought I would find anything better than Fae blood, but I was wrong." The shivers that went down my spine were involuntary and they felt divine. I stepped back. Pulled my gaze to the stairs I needed to ascend. Watched as Sookie's feet came into view and heard her bright voice murmur at Derek, some pleasantry and been exchanged and I couldn't care less what it was. I could almost feel Eric pull himself back together into the rough edged Vampire Sherriff of Area Five who didn't have a care in the world, living or dead. I kept my back to him, made some typical sign of weariness and strode up the stairs without a backward glance. If Sookie couldn't tell anything was amiss, then she could stay in the dark. My traitorous heart would be the death of me if I couldn't find a way to remove Eric from our lives. Whatever was happening was wrong, and I hated him for it. I should have hated myself for giving in, even in the slightest to what I was thinking, but I had more than enough self-loathing to last lifetimes. I couldn't add to it now.

Derek watched as I walked in, weary and tired. He didn't comment or say anything to me. He was already sitting up in bed waiting for me. I chose not to go back down to my car and retrieve my bedclothes and other necessities. I clunked my keys onto the table next to the bed by Derek and began to take my clothes off. I was mechanical and stiff. My movements were not of someone eagerly awaiting the bed before them, but someone who had too many troubles on their mind to sleep. I knew Derek was waiting for me to bring it up and he may end up waiting until we woke in the morning. I didn't want to get into this with him right now, and I didn't want to be confused. I loved Derek. I had been looking for someone like him throughout my entire existence, and I hadn't known it until I found him. Well, he found me, but still.

I walked to the other side of the bed and climbed in. The sheets were cotton and breathable but they were already warm because of Derek's body heat. He wore only boxer shorts around his waist and the sheets and thin blanket that covered the bed, I noticed. I scooted closer to him and put my head on his chest. His arm came around me and rubbed my shoulder and down my arm. The same arm Eric had held earlier to stop me. I began to feel my emotions stir again and I had no outlet. I wouldn't take this out on Derek, he was innocent of this, he deserved better than me. I wept on his chest then, my nakedness shaming me and having no effect on Derek at all. I was glad he didn't want for me right now. I wasn't sure I could handle that until I had sorted through my feelings entirely, despite knowing I wanted to be with Derek as long as he would have me.

My heart ached for a simpler time in my life before I had discovered my true nature and the otherness that I was made of. A childhood that was full of fond memories that were now something I could only hope to have again. I was sickened by my desire to learn more about Eric and to be intimate with him in any way possible, because until tonight, it had just been a fantasy. The fantasy of someone lonely and missing their own loved one but provided with a more than a suitable substitute to dream of.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Derek asked me quietly. I shook my head half-heartedly. He kept rubbing my back and side. I knew it was bothering him, not knowing what was on my mind, but he wouldn't pressure me. For that, I was immensely grateful. He began to sing to me. He didn't have a great voice, but it wasn't awful either. I appreciated the gesture of his low notes lulling me to sleep. As I was drifting off, I recognized the tune he was singing softly to me; "Sweet Sweet Thing" by MxPx. It was a song I hadn't heard in ages and it calmed me instantly. It had been my brother, Seth's favorite song to croon at his then girlfriend. I missed them all so much. I didn't care what my dreams would hold while I slept, I only wanted them to be peaceful and soothing.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning was a blur for me. Despite going to sleep close to five o'clock in the morning with the sunlight just around the corner, Derek had us up and going at by ten. He had rummaged through the fridge and made a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, and a pot of coffee for Sookie when she rose. After eating we went out the back porch and began to stretch. I had been wondering what else we would do to practice when Derek went around to the tool shed and grabbed a shovel and a sturdy rake. Our morning and afternoon were spent entirely on training, whether it was sparing, breathing exercises, or technique challenges. Sookie came out for a few hours and was surprised by our activities but covered it well.

I think seeing Derek shirtless had something to do with her surprise, but I was pleased she was seeing him in peak form. The sweat dripping off him in the sunlight accentuated the muscles he had worked hard for, and made him more formidable if you looked at it that way. While we trained Sookie took some time to tend her garden then went inside to change into her swimsuit to tan.

While she tanned, Sookie inquired about my talk with Sam I had mentioned the night before. I informed her that I would skip out on speaking with him about renting, it was just too chaotic for me to even think about settling down anymore. With Derek finding me, I knew Kayden probably wasn't far behind, and that terrified me. I didn't want to endanger anyone here in this small portion of Louisiana, but I wasn't sure it could be avoided if Kayden found me hiding out here.

I decided to have Derek go with me to retrieve the few things still left in my Motel room and to check on the cat I had seen around the property once or twice. I would miss the nameless cat, just because it would sometimes come to my door for company, even without me feeding it. It was one of the few animals that weren't frightened of me as I began changing more frequently and in varying degrees.

As we got into my car, Derek flipped on the stereo, to see what I was listening to. It was on a CD he had given me just before I had left and begun my string of useless running. The track had just finished and was switching to another one, "Every Thug Needs A Lady" by Alkaline Trio. He looked over at me but didn't comment while I blushed up a storm watching Sookie in my review pack up her own radio and move back into the house to get dressed again. He continued watching me as we drove out the main road and toward the Motel, even after the song ended. I couldn't take it anymore and I asked, "What?" as I chanced a glance in his direction.

"Nothing," he replied while grinning slightly.

"It reminds me of you," I said to his vague answer. His grin widened.

The drive to the Motel was uneventful after that, but pleasant nonetheless. We stopped and grabbed a meal to share from Sonic before heading on the rest of the way. The drab exterior that greeted us was no comparison to the ghastly wallpaper that made up the décor of the room. I could see Derek cringe as we walked through the doorway into what I had been calling home for the last two weeks. There were worse places, frequented by less than savory people, but this was as low as I was willing to stoop.

As I collected my things Derek sunk onto the bed and discovered its lumpy and misshapen mattress. The hole at the center was almost as charming as he tried to stretch out. I couldn't help it when I laughed out loud and dropped half of the things in my arms. I went over to the side of the bed furthest from the door and sat next to Derek, who had beckoned me to him. Staring into his eyes made wonderful things happen. I was calm, and nervous, and excited, all at once. I leaned closer and finally gave in. Our lips met in a blissful moment of joy and passion. What little I had tried to hold onto during my laughing fit instantly was forgotten and fell to the floor.

I shifted my weight and sat on my knees, straddling the bed until Derek lifted me up and placed me over him. Our kiss broke, but not long enough to count. My hands were in his hair, tangling it up around my fingers, breathing him into me. His hands wandered my sides, legs, face. Anywhere wasn't close enough for us in this moment. This was months, no, years, of running and hiding, of not being together all in a matter of moments.

"Derek," I breathed. "Derek, I've missed you." It came out without me even thinking and it was met with a response that melted me to the core. "I've missed you too, love, you have no idea."

I laughed a little. "I think I do," I said, kissing him again and pushing my hips down and against him. I knew how much he had missed me, and it was the same for me, too. "I love you, Derek. There is nothing in this universe that will ever change that," I said, breaking our kiss.

"And I love you, my Queen." I shivered. We never brought up that part of our lives, unless I had to learn something that was important. Something I usually found boring, but could save my life. I shuddered. He was acknowledging my importance over his, and I wasn't sure I could comprehend that right now. I shut it down before it could go any further and focused on the most physical aspect of the moment instead.

"Not now," I breathed. Our lips met again and there were no more words. Our bodies spoke for us, reacquainting us with each other after such a long time apart. Despite being almost new to each other, our movements were fluid, never seeming to stop or separate for much more than taking our clothes off. I felt everything as though it was the first time. It may as well have been, because we had only had sex twice before, so we still had plenty to learn about each other.

We were electric and frantic in our need to be as close to each other as possible. As many times as possible. Our afternoon was ending sooner than either of us liked, but the four times we were as close as two people could be, aside from pregnant mothers, would forever be etched into my memory. We took our time redressing and gathering the few belongings I had left in this room. As we left and I checked out of what I hoped would be one of the last Motels I would stay at, I saw no sign of the cat I had befriended. I hoped that it was doing well, and maybe someone had decided to take it home and love it for the rest of its life. Wishful thinking has gotten me nowhere, but maybe it would do something for this kitty.

A few pictures, larger bottles of lotion, shampoo, and conditioner, and three more changes of clothes were tucked neatly into the travel sized suitcase in my trunk. As we piled into the car again, I called Sookie and asked if there was anything we could stop and get before coming back to her house for dinner, and like a good southern hostess she provided everything for the meal. She had insisted that we stay at least one more night to rest up as best we could before setting off for our journey into the unknown. Even a polite refusal was out of the question, despite it being for her safety and wellbeing.

The late afternoon sky blazed behind us as we drove back to the home Derek had found me at. How long he had tracked me, and what leads he had followed were beyond me, but I was grateful for them. We made it back to Sookie's just before first dark and I felt so much that we were imposing, causing her to have dinner so late, that I almost couldn't bring myself to the porch. No matter my qualms, Derek knew it was in our best interest to stay the night and humor her southern hospitality. We ambled up the steps slowly, admiring the night breeze after the heat of the day. The moon was beginning to rise and take the place of the vanishing sun when we reached the door.

Eric opened it from inside the house and nearly scared me to an early grave. I jumped back and gathered myself into a defensive position as a reaction to seeing him there. I had intended to knock and see Sookie, not get to the threshold and find him there.

"If you would like a rematch, I would be more than willing to oblige," Eric spoke in my general direction. The words caught in my head and finally clicked a few seconds later. I retracted from my defensiveness and smoothed out the wrinkles I had caused on my shirt.

"I would rather not, I have more important things to concern myself with," I came back at Eric with. A little late, but better than nothing, right?

Eric shrugged it off as though it didn't matter either way, but something about his stance as he let us pass into Sookie's home made me believe otherwise. I didn't bring up his being here, or how he managed to look so polished if he had, in fact, slept in the hidey hole somewhere in Sookie's house. I didn't bring up my insatiable need to look at him while Derek and I set the table for the three of us to eat, nor did I mention what had passed between us last night. I made an effort to focus on the meal in front of me and the conversation passing between Derek and Sookie.

She seemed rather interested in how the political system worked where I was from, and Derek as well. He could answer all those questions, he knew the answers better than me. I felt utterly sore at myself for being a poor dinner guest and not engaging in the conversation as much, but not enough to change the few murmurs I got out between bites. I could just be hungry, living on the run doesn't provide many opportunities for home cooked meals, let alone stick to your ribs southern cooking like what Sookie had made.

The spread included country chicken fried steak, creamy mashed potatoes, and a white sausage gravy. Dessert was just as delicious because it was a lattice work apple pie with fresh whipped cream. I couldn't have gotten a better meal if I had looked for a restaurant with awards. Sookie was an amazing cook and I was glad to have her company for this last night, even if she was going out of her way to make the stay more memorable.

Throughout the course of our meal Eric had been in and out of the kitchen. I hadn't paid much mind, but Sookie had noticed plenty and I could tell she was antsy. When I suggested watching a movie on T.V. she jumped at it. I think she needed the distraction as much as I did. I found the remote and flicked the unit on. The picture on the screen was a familiar one, but I wasn't sure if Sookie would find it a good movie to watch with company.

"Look, Derek," I exclaimed! "It's Ginger Snaps 2!" Derek chuckled as he came to sit by me in front of the T.V. and put his arm around me. Sookie looked on in horror as Bridgette walked out of the cabin to the mangled deer and began to kneel and tear at its flesh, succumbing to her urges to change into the lycanthrope she had become after her sister's accident in the first film. I knew it wasn't really a charming movie, but it was one of the things that had drawn me and Derek together when he had first found me.

It was exactly at that moment that Eric strode in, looking smug and purposeful as he did so. When he caught sight of the movie he made a look of distaste before offering this as to why he was in the room, "I don't understand or care what fascinates you about this repulsive and sickening Hollywood idea about Weres, but I need to borrow Sookie for a moment."

To say she looked relieved was an understatement, but she tried her best to look annoyed and like she would rather sit with us and watch the gory scene unfold. I nodded a little, making sure she knew I didn't mind, it wasn't my business to keep her tied up with something that sickened or frightened her.

As the movie continued onward toward its dark but deceptively cheery ending, Derek and I heard Sookie begin shouting. What they were arguing about this time I didn't know, but as I motioned for Derek to turn the T.V. off we heard, "I will not go stay in some house in Oklahoma while you get married to some fancy vampire queen!" from Sookie.

She marched into the living room fuming and breathing heavy from yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Sookie, dear," Eric tried, consolingly. "You could sell this place and stay with me."

"Sell this place? Eric, really," Sookie questioned. "This is my home. My family has lived her for over a hundred years, I am not just going to 'sell this place' for you or anyone for that matter."

Derek and I looked on, unsure of what to do and if we should make any movement at all, thus drawing attention to ourselves during this heated argument. Eric stepped into the room and I could feel the air escaping it like a vacuum as his presence entreated into Sookie's space. Walking carefully, Eric was in front of Sookie blocking most of her escape routes. The predatory gleam in his eyes let me know he was in the throes of bloodlust and I wasn't sure what had spurred it on. Was violence really a turn on for him? Jeesh, then Sookie could have him for all I cared. I had had enough violence in my familial relations that I didn't want any romance tinged with it.

"Sookie," Eric entreated quietly. "Please, just come with me! You have made my life worth living again, and after a thousand years that is no small feat," he said while pulling her to him in a loving gesture. The whole scene unfolding was strange and at odds with everything that had taken place the night before, and it was only made worse by a loud and persistent knocking at Sookie's door. This took everyone by surprise since Eric hadn't noticed anything amiss before the sound perforated the room.

"God damn it, Bill Compton, she is still mine, even if we are not wed!" Eric exclaimed.

"The hell I am," Sookie voiced loudly after. Eric sent a cool glare into her eyes and she met it with a fiery one of her own.

"Bill," Sookie spoke loudly enough that he could hear through the door, "you can come in if you'd like. Eric was just leaving."

A moment of silence elapsed where there was no knocking at the door and no quipped exchanges between Eric or Sookie as we waited for the door to open. A twist on the knob alerted Sookie that she had locked it after we arrived.

"Eric, be a gentleman and show yourself out while you let Bill inside," Sookie told him harshly. Immediately he let her go in a rough manner and strode to the door, unlocking the bolt and twisting the knob. The hard look on his face and the hurt masked with anger visible in his eyes was odd to see. It made me feel for him, even though he was despicable and too confident. I hated him for it even more, after watching Sookie struggling with herself to not give in and just allow herself to be kept. It would have been the same for me, as fiercely independent as we both were, I knew we only wanted affection and commitment. I was only lucky that I had found that with Derek.

As Eric pulled open the door and moved to exit, his gaze swept over the person standing outside Sookie's door. A different look, one of confusion, curiosity, and defensiveness passed over him. He looked me in the eyes across the room and it seemed an understanding had come to him but was lost on me completely. As he spoke, my heart stopped beating momentarily and I began to panic and find anywhere we could run to. I knew who was outside now, and I feared for not only my life, but everyone's in this home.

"You are not Bill Compton," Eric said before slamming the door shut and sliding the locks home.

Sookie ran to the living room window as I screamed: "Don't!"

Although Eric had braced himself against the door, Kayden had managed to break the locks and hinges, forcing the door into the house, along with himself. This was beyond my worst case scenario happening. This was worse than a nightmare. This was happening and I wasn't sure if there was anything I could do about it.


	8. Chapter 8

With my worst nightmares coming to light at the sight of my half-brother in Sookie's home, I began to frantically plan how best to escape and what the injuries may total in the end. None of it looked good. My palms began to sweat and my body shook with fear and panic as waves of hate and fury washed through the house. Kayden had only made it through the door and into the hall but he took up more room than even Eric did because his purpose was my life in his hands. To bend to his will only, and serve or be destroyed as my only options. Revenge was no more his goal than the sick satisfaction it would bring him to control me completely.

"Who the hell are you," Sookie asked. "And I hope you're going to replace my door, there's been enough done to my poor house already, without the door being off again!"

I stared in horror at her for addressing him in such a manner then realized she couldn't possibly have known him at all. I was the connection and it was me he was after. I needed to protect her from him in any way I could, but how much would I sacrifice for this girl who I knew so little about. Too much apparently as I walked forward to separate them and put myself at his mercy.

"Kayden," I spoke softly. If he heard me he didn't turn his attention on me. "Please, don't do this."

I heard Sookie gasp and felt rather than saw Derek next to me, ready to protect me. His eyes blazed with the same amount of fury and hatred as my brothers, but for Derek, it was directed all at Kayden and not me. The warmth of his skin was becoming dangerously hot, and soon, it would encompass his whole body, turning what appeared to be a normal man to nothing but flame and light. That was his gift, the ability he used only to protect me, and against my brother, it did almost nothing because of their shared heritage.

I didn't want to surrender myself, I had been running from this for so long, and it had seemed I would never meet the end of it. Yet here was my end, facing my lover and my friend with such a wicked smile I felt dirty in its presence. Kayden looked from Sookie to Derek and finally at me. His gaze lingered on my appearance, markedly different than he last remembered it. I had tried to change my looks to hide my identity before, and the results were less than favorable to me. I had even bleached my hair and colored it a honey blond. I hadn't known that my continuous changes would make it impossible to keep a disguise for very long, and not weeks after changing my hair, it was back to the inky black I had from birth.

"Sister, you look well," Kayden sneered lecherously. "Though I have never cared for the mask you walk about in upon this rock."

I squirmed under is watchful eyes, but made no comment or move to change myself. If the need for me to fight arose, it would be my best defense, to change myself completely and give myself over to a fate I had been hiding from for the better part of six years. As I watched Kayden inspecting my useless mortal body more appreciatively than I liked, Eric moved swiftly and quietly behind him. How he moved a broken door without scraping hardwood or giving his position away was still a mystery to me.

I chanced to look past Derek at Sookie, and immediately regretted it. I saw the terror written on her face after the stories she had heard the night before. Whatever she had imagined my brother to be, it must have paled in comparison to what was before her now. I knew she needed to leave and go with Eric to anywhere that was far away from here. I just wasn't sure how to get her out without getting her more involved than she had gotten herself already.

"I want you to leave this house and the people within it unharmed," I spoke to Kayden. His gaze met my eyes and I flinched at the fire and lust in them. There could be nothing more awful, I thought to myself, than being desired and hated by your own kinsman. The things he had done to me in my most vulnerable years, they were reprehensible acts of cruelty no child should have to go through, and I had survived.

"They have done nothing against you but provide me with shelter and food. Even that, was not given freely," I continued, hoping to spare at least Sookie from my brother's madness.

"And yet I see," Kayden began, "That my dear sister still keeps company with those unbecoming to her position or rank. Tell me, is he merely a pet to you, or are you still convinced your feelings for each other are true?" His words cut through me sharply, but I ignored the jab at my relationship with Derek. He was my tether and my strength. Keeping me grounded and functional in this shit-storm I called my life.

Kayden took a step forward, not breaching my space yet, but testing and baiting me to see where my breaking point was. It was part of what he enjoyed in breaking people, to test their limits and see how much they could endure before succumbing to madness or death. Since I had done neither, despite his efforts and my eventual escape, I was his most vexing and constant reminder of failure. I tried to catch Eric's eyes without Kayden's notice, but Eric was inching toward Sookie in order to take her away. If I could manage to get Kayden out of the house, or further in it, they would have an unobstructed exit and the ability to save themselves from this mess I had brought them unwittingly.

"Brother, I've told you, I will choose for myself the company I keep, and with whom I share my bed," I hedged, trying to draw Kayden's attention. His eyes stopped their assessment of Sookie's home I hadn't realized he was conducting. It was an invasion that could not be reversed or stopped. He trained his hateful glare on me and took another step forward while I stepped back, inching toward the hallway that led to the downstairs bedroom across from the stairs.

"You shall not choose while I am still here," Kayden voiced, watching me to see my reaction.

"Then leave," I told him. I had no desire to submit to him or play out his horrid plan, but neither did I wish to see someone so innocent and frail pay for my mistakes or indecision. Kayden laughed, a strange and frightening sound amidst the scattered door and frame painted by artificial lightbulbs and the natural moonlight from beyond the porch. It sickened me that he was entertained by people's pain and humiliation. By my fear and disgust.

"Not without you, my dear sister. You are my prize, and I will go nowhere until I have caught you completely," he sneered at me.

Knowing his feelings and intentions was one thing, but having them said was another entirely. I felt Derek go rigid, angry and embarrassed for me at the same time. Footsteps I hadn't heard before ceased as Eric and Sookie stood, in shock, I presumed, on her front porch at my brother's declaration.

"There are reasons new blood is brought into our kingdom, Kayden. The royal bloodline is not pure, and there is no need to make it so. The monarch has always chosen their suitor, be them of nobility or otherwise, and I will not change that now." My tirade caught his attention again and he began marching toward me with purpose. I stepped back as quickly as I could but found only a bedroom door or a wall as my options.

Fire raged in Kayden's eyes as he looked down at me, breaking my space and merely inches from my skin. Derek tried to come next to me and between us, but Kayden shoved him away and into the bedroom I had not chosen to enter. My heart raced in my chest and I began to feel beads of sweat slip down my temples and onto my cheeks. The heat which consumed Derek was minimal in comparison to Kayden and had made me feel much differently than anything Kayden was capable of.

"You would dirty our line with the likes of his spawn," Kayden spat. He huffed and turned away from me and went after Derek instead, choosing to show his superior status and training at the hand of his father. "You are not good enough for my sister, no one is. I am the only one who knows her every inch and depth. I alone am her match."

My teeth clenched while my gut wrenched inside me at the words falling from his lips. As I tried to calm myself, my nerves shot up again, watching Kayden lift Derek with a single hand around his throat. Flames licked my brother's hands, red hot but not tearing his flesh apart. Derek was encased in fire and my brother was soon catching, a sight that surely frightened and confused our hosts.

"Kayden," my voice shook as I spoke. "Take this outside. This is not the place for your displays."

A grunt met my plea as Derek fell to the floor in front of me gasping for air. Kayden loomed over us both, blocking the doorway despite being far enough in the house we could have left, had we not been in a corner. I glared up at him and steadied my shaking body. Derek began to stand separating Kayden from me, and I helped him up as best I could, trying not to burn myself.

His eyes met mine, and in that moment I saw a terrifying thing in Derek's eyes. He was telling me goodbye, silently so I would not draw attention to myself. My eyes stung as tears prickled behind them and began to overflow, burning tracks down my cheeks that no flame could replicate. I would not lose him tonight, or ever. We had only just found each other again, I would not let Kayden destroy my happiness once more.

I pleaded with him through my eyes, he couldn't do anything reckless to protect me now, because I would need him to guide me in the coming years when I made my claim and led my people as I was meant to do. My parents had left the throne to me as was tradition, but they had prepared me by teaching me about how our world was run. I hadn't recovered those memories yet, and I would need strong and capable advisors to help me once I had the crown. It had defaulted to our senate after my parents and I had fled and my sister had not been found because Kayden had proven himself unsuitable to lead and had so far, been unable to take over the government just yet.

Derek turned to face me, leaning in for a kiss before charging or berating my brother for me but before our lips could meet, a wet squishing sound met my ears. Derek sighed and made and umph noise before clutching his gut and looking down at his slick hand. Red had stained his shirt and spread across his abdomen and down his legs on the left side, my right. Pain flashed across his face before I saw the fear, he had been ready to die, but not in an undercut, cheated way. He was honorable and would have fought until he was defeated for me, even if I had asked him to stop. My life was that important to him and I would not have belittled his sacrifice in any circumstance.

Kayden pulled his sword from Derek's side, and I watched him sway. I moved forward on autopilot and caught him, his weight heavy since he couldn't support himself now. I couldn't tell if the wound was fatal but my chances of anything favorable happening had soared out the window when Kayden had found me. Everything that happened around him was characterized by disappointment or disaster in some way. Nothing was positive or uplifting, nothing changed.

"No," I whispered softly. There was so much I had to say and I didn't have the time or the words. "Derek please, stay with me. Hold on, for me." I let my tears fall and my breath catch in my throat. What else could I do?

Derek was breathing raggedly and motioned me closer, aware my brother would only hurt me if I put up a fight. "I believe in you, Tristan. You are strong and confident, and you will learn what needs to be done. You can rule your kingdom without my help." His voice broke on the last few words and he tried for a laugh, but couldn't manage because it hurt too much. "Live for me, and make me proud."

I held back a sob and nodded to him. He still had some time, and I would make sure he could be proud before he was gone forever. I gently laid him across Sookie's floor and stepped over him, angling him to see me through the door and into the yard. I stood before Kayden in a challenging pose and I let lose. I could feel my change sliding across my skin like cool water, ushering a different skin tone and more fluidity.


	9. Chapter 9

I could feel every ounce of moisture around us, in the creaky old pipes, the air outside, and even under the earth. It was everywhere and everything I focused on, it was me. Water flew through my hair, changing it from and inky black with no depth, to a shimmering black and blue that was all my own. Cascading down my back like waves, my hair sheathed me and protected my back, acting as a shield for me from anything I couldn't see. My skin, already a light shade began to shine like starlight, scars lacing a dizzy pattern across it, and my eyes became an intense blue that sparked emotions in all who met my eyes. It was a sight few had seen outside of my true home, and I would not make it a habit, even to protect my loved ones, until I was home.

"You finally have shed that awful mask, and you are every bit as ravishing as the last time," Kayden said. "Though much more endowed than I remember."

Fury rolled over me and I screamed loudly and with intent. I ran toward Kayden and slammed into his midsection moving him closer to the door. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled my weight with me as I slid across the floor still holding on. Kayden slammed to the ground on my right arm, and pain radiated through it. I was still weak from trying to live a normal and unfettered life but now I had no choice except to be strong.

I leapt to my feet, pulling my arm out from under him and struck him in the hip with the side of my foot and kicked away the sword still in his grasp. He rolled to his side to cover his stomach and I aimed again for his back. My foot didn't make contact because he had caught my ankle in his hands. He twisted and spun me in the air and dropped me to the ground beside him.

He spat on the ground between us and looked at me. "You have learned a few things since we were last united. Perhaps I have underestimated you, sister," he growled. I glowered at him and threw a handful of dirt in his eyes. While he writhed in pain from the intimate intrusion, I clamored on top of him and threw punches left and right, hitting any and everything I could reach.

Just as suddenly as I thought I would be victorious, I was surrounded by flames and choking at the lack of air. Sookie's porch was too close for the flames to be safe, but there was no way to change the direction without hurting myself in the process. But to keep Derek alive for a few minutes longer, I would burn throughout eternity.

Kayden flipped me onto my back and slipped a hand around my throat. I stopped struggling and instead centered myself and drew on the humid air around us to quiet the flames threatening to engulf Sookie's home. Kayden hadn't noticed the flames dying around him and was assuming victory as he slowly released my throat and grabbed my wrists. I didn't let him hold me, instead, I swished my arms around me drawing any extra moisture I could and shoved them into his chest. I began focusing on the water I could already see wrapping around and compressing him, making breathing difficult.

Kayden clawed and struck at his chest trying to remove the ice I was hardening around him. I doubled my effort and wrapped water around his arms, too. He grunted in anger and frustration as he wobbled from side to side. I pushed him off with my hips and he hissed in pain as his head knocked against the ground. I grabbed the sword, still hot from his grip and began to brittle the metal and freeze it. Smashing it against the ground I broke it into uneven pieces across the porch steps.

Kayden struggled against my bonds and I was proud in my effort to keep him restrained. Only killing him would stop him from ruining my life and trying to control me. I wasn't sure I was ready to do that yet, but I wouldn't have much choice if Kayden broke free. As the thought crossed my mind, I heard a loud splash as water fell to the ground around him, he was cloaked in flames far hotter than any human, or supe for that matter, could normally stand.

Kayden lunged at me and knocked me over, landing on my stomach unable to move because he pressed his weight into me and pinned me down. I struggled but didn't scream. I couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he still terrified me, almost into submission. He grabbed my flailing arms and wrenched them back between us to the small of my back, and settled closer to breathe in my ear. He had quieted the flames surrounding his body to capture me, but they were reignited just to torture me and bring a slow, aching pain across my back.

A feral growl escaped from somewhere above me and the weight my brother had pinned me with was removed instantly. I flipped over and scurried onto the porch in time to see Sookie shell-shocked and trying to tend to Derek's wounds while Eric faced off against my brother. That he wasn't ablaze himself was impressive, but more still was that he was fighting _for_ me. I hadn't expected any help after Derek was taken down and Eric was making a fool of me for thinking so.

"You would dare stand between my sister and me," asked Kayden. "You, a lowly creature as yourself, think you have any chance of winning her heart? You are no better than the mangy thing lying on the floor past the threshold."

Eric growled but didn't back down. "I have no desire for her heart or her bed. I, I-," he stopped because he had no words to describe his feelings, and I had none for mine either. If he didn't want me then what was he doing, fighting my battles? I stood on the steps and took inventory of myself. Nothing sprained or broken, only bruises blossoming across my body and scars forming across more of my skin from the exposure to flame.

Eric straightened. "I am a noble son of a Viking chieftain, and I have battled for over a thousand years, and still, I stand." He began to hover and started to circle Kayden. "I know what is just and what is ill-conceived," Eric started again. "This child here deserves none of your anger or retribution."

"Ha," Kayden scoffed. "She is no more a child than you and me, young chief."

"Yes, I forget that age is viewed differently now. She is an adult aware and in control of herself," Eric stated.

I stepped forward, aware that I drew all sets of eyes toward me, and looked at Eric. I wasn't sure if he would be able to understand, but taking the news that I was from another planet hadn't shaken him the way I had expected, this just might.

"Eric," I uttered. "I ceased to be a child over a thousand years ago. When I said that I was twenty three, I meant in relation to how I am treated, and this body I still wear on this Earth. I am nearly 1,500 years old."

His expression hid his shock very well, but the bond I hadn't been paying attention to belied his indifference. He was confused and angry and frightened. For me or Sookie I wasn't sure, but it carried a weight I hadn't felt before between us.

"That would have been helpful to know earlier," Eric shot at me. The glare in his eyes was a small comfort because it let me know that as frustrating as the situation was, he understood my hesitance to say anything before now. He respected it even, because if Derek and I had left before, there may have been no need for him to know that at all. A final question left his lips as he asked Kayden, "How old does that make you?"

My brother laughed coarsely and replied, "I am five hundred years her senior. Time passes quite differently for us, and like some creatures, we are gifted with longevity the likes of which you cannot fathom."

Eric let that sink in, still circling Kayden in the air. Flames torched the ground beneath his feet, and he met Eric's unwavering gaze. I knew vampires weren't fond of fire but Eric was proving to be many things besides the Vampire Sherriff of Area Five. I watched a few moments longer, unsure if I was committing Eric to a death sentence, and worked my way back to Derek and Sookie. Her quiet sobs frightened me. She could have been crying for Eric being impulsive and trying to win her trust back, but I knew better.

Her hands were covered in blood, a sight she was probably more used to than she should have been. Derek's body was still angled facing the door, but the gentle, if shallow, rise and fall of his chest had ceased in the time between our words and my fight for his honor. It had only been a few minutes, but the puddle slowly making its way across Sookie's hallway was more substantial proof of what my eyes refused to see.

Sookie looked up then, and I suppose she hadn't taken notice of the visible changes until seeing me in the house. The scars that covered my body stood out in stark relief against the even lighter pallor of my skin. My hair, irradiant in the moonlight, must have looked too bright and dark simultaneously, while still looking disheveled and uneven. A gasp escaped her lips and her eyes widened in surprise and horror. I broke eye contact and stared down at Derek, his life force still continuing to spill out around him.

I dropped to my knees and pulled him into my lap, silently wishing I had never started running in the first place. I cradled his head and ran my fingers across his face. I brought my lips to his eyes, his cheeks, his lips. While I was trying to make him proud, I had left him alone, dying in a stranger's house to parade my inability to defeat my brother. I had failed him, time and again, when all he had ever done was support and encourage me. How stupid could I be?

My grief was not meant to last, at least not in my pitiful moment of discovery. I would honor Derek at the first chance I got, bury him properly and dedicate a piece of myself to his memory. He had died protecting me, as he had always said he was willing to do. Kayden's horrifying and gruesome display of superiority had left me far colder than I had felt in a long time. Eric could stand in line to fight my brother, but I was going to take the first shot.

Setting Derek back down on Sookie's floor was beyond difficult and made everything more real. The edges of my vision sharpened and came into focus as I made my way back outside again. I looked over my shoulder one last time and asked Sookie to watch over him, even though he wasn't there anymore. It made me feel better and gave her something to do that kept her out of harm's way for the time being.

"Kayden," I screamed in the air. My breath came out in a soft puff of air. This was a good sign. "You will pay for taking my love from me!"

Eric and Kayden looked to me then, stopping their battle of gazes. Why Kayden hadn't killed Eric already I didn't know or care. Maybe he was infatuated with him. I could work with that. I flew from the steps, hardly touching them long enough to be considered stepping. I kicked my shoes off and quickly pulled my socks off and tossed them aside.

"You think removing clothing will help you win a fight," Eric queried as he watched me with detached interest. I ignored his question and trained my body on Kayden's position. Stride for stride my heart pitched and leaped, desperately trying to return to the only being it had belonged to besides myself.

"She is becoming one with her true self, an advantage that would help her if she was in control of herself rather than maddened by grief over a worthless thrall," Kayden informed Eric. A single blond eyebrow rose but no other reaction came from him.

Now a body's length away from either of them in the front yard, I stopped and faced my brother. Pulling my shirt over my head and unhooking my bra in one deft move, I tossed them aside. I slid my hands down my legs, taking my jeans and underwear with them. Normally this would have been the most vulnerable state for anyone to be in, but it allowed me closer contact with each part of the water around me. I used it to build armor for my body, protecting my weakest parts and anything that could be made more vulnerable.

Eric looked on in awe and obvious confusion. This was something that only I knew how to do, as far as I had been informed. As quickly as my clothes were removed I was covered in shining, strong armor made from the very humidity itself. I made no helmet, preferring to see clearly and use my small stature to the best of my ability, but I did refashion my tiara and my mother's amulet around my neck. Kayden scoffed but began to surround himself with flames.

"You have no right to wear these things unless you accept me as your king and lover, sister. They are for royalty only, and as I have convinced the council," he sneered, "you are no longer worthy of these titles."

Rage flowed through me, hotter than the rest of me, and settled in my bones. It was my birthright and I would not let him goad me into more foolish actions. I would wait for the right opportunity.

"Nothing to say about your new position? No objections to maintain you're status?"

I breathed in and blew between my lips. "No one but myself is qualified or worthy of leading these people, Kayden. I do object to your claims, and I will have my status renewed. And endorsed. The council will see reason and ability when I speak with them. You are not destroying my very world for the pleasure of my company."

A wicked grin bloomed on his face, and my gut wrenched. That was the same look he had used each time he had thrown his fist against my ribs and back, had touched me intimately and coerced me to pleasure him to save my sister, and probably the same he used for her as well. It was a look of pure, malignant evil. One that said he fully understood the consequences of his action and didn't care, because they would not apply to him, anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

Kayden rushed me and I sidestepped quickly. I stomped my foot and spread a sheet of ice beneath him causing him to lose his balance. While he slipped and fell I walked around to where he had been and focused on his hands touching the sheet beneath him. I fashioned shackles that bound his wrists and forearms then stalked toward him. Water swirled around each of my hands, like living snakes, eels even, and waited for my command. They lengthened and shortened, hardened and became flexible as my mind raced. It couldn't be this easy. I couldn't just avenge my lover and best friend in one blow as I approached the being that had made my existence almost worth giving up, could I?

I stood over Kayden, my half-brother and my nemesis. I fashioned blades from the water at my hands and prepared to lop his head from his shoulders and end my suffering. I wanted desperately to go home and begin learning everything I needed to do in order to become the leader my people deserved.

"You killed my sister and my parents," I said quietly above him. "You took my lover from me, and you stole my innocence. You tortured me and ruined my childhood and caused me to fear what I was capable of. You permanently marked me and stole my identity as a member of the royal house and family. "

I stopped there because I wasn't sure what else I would spill before I actually completed my tirade, and by then he may have released himself. I steadied my hands raising them above us both and apart. Two short sword blades held in my hands I brought them down as I whispered, "I hate you."

Sharp metal clanging met my ears before fully registering the sight before me. A figure clad in white with flowing blond hair to her waist wielded a long sword. She had stopped me from killing the object of my torment and hate. I would have to kill her for sparing him a few more moments. I felt water pool at my feet and heard Kayden stand.

"Good job, my lover. Now kill your sister, Adria."

My heart leapt from my stomach to my throat. I had to look again, and again to really see and believe. My sister wasn't dead! But what was truly left of her, if she had taken him for a lover and followed him where he went?

"Master," Adria spoke. "It isn't safe here, we must leave."

Kayden nodded a dismissal and waved her off. He stared at me and looked into my eyes as he stepped closer to me, I had forgotten to guard myself in the shock of seeing Adria and finding she was alive, but not my sister truly.

"You didn't think I would travel alone either, did you, sister?" Kayden asked me. "She is under my control, and she does as I wish, with no second thoughts. I have crafted her to my liking, and will do the same to you, in time."

He plunged a blade sheathed in flames into my gut through my armor and pulled it out in the same breath, then left with my sister in tow. Through the woods, across time and space, I wasn't sure how or where or when, but they weren't there as I gasped for breath and staggered backward. This was too much to take in all at once, and I felt truly sorry to be inconveniencing Sookie with all of my problems. I truly wished I could have spared her even this small fraction of the crazy I knew would follow.

I looked around and realized I should have been on the ground. Instead I was suspended somehow, and my armor was gone. Along with my tiara and mother's amulet, I had somehow let everything fall away. I looked up and found Eric's furrowed brows and darkened eyes. He was walking me toward the house where my lover was still dead on the floor, and his lover, or ex, or whatever she was, still sat with his body, in shock and horror and disbelief. I began to weep being carried in his arms. I was nothing worthy for my people. I was weak and unable to kill, even to save myself. How could I lead a people when I couldn't even lead myself from this darkness that surrounded me?

"Shh," Eric cooed. "Hush, Tristan. You'll make the wound bleed faster." At that I looked down at my bare stomach, breasts swaying and bouncing with his slow movement. It must not have been fatal if he was walking so slowly.

"I am going to lie you down on the bed and give you my blood," Eric told me. "I do not know what it will do, but for humans and many supes, it has healing properties that can make wounds disappear. It may help you to heal faster or save you if I have underestimated the depth of his blade."

His face looked wrong. He wore a mask of anger and fury that was muted by genuine concern. I tried to bring my arm up to cover myself, then stopped when I realized it hurt more to move it from its hanging position. Eric told Sookie to get a rag and basin of water and to meet him in the downstairs bedroom. She moved on autopilot.

Eric kicked the door open with his foot, even though it was slightly open already, and walked to the bed. He laid me down near the window and moved my legs enough to sit with me. He ran his cool fingers across my face a neck tenderly. There was affection I could feel in his touch and it scared us both. Bringing his wrist to his lips he parted them and unsheathed his fangs with a pop. He bit into his wrist and let the blood flow over his lips to ensure it would stop after he saw what it might do to me.

He brought his wrist to my mouth and as grossed out as I might have been before now, the fire I felt above my left hip in my gut urged me to take any solution presented and run with it. With his other hand he placed a second pillow under my head as I lifted it and brought him to my lips.

His blood was rich and sweet, with an undertone of meatiness. There was no other way to describe it, I had never tasted blood but my own before, and when it comes from biting your cheeks or tongue, it is not the same. Thick and syrup like in consistency it was difficult to get down easily, but there was a magic in it I could feel as the first drops reached my throat.

The hoarseness I had felt from crying and breathing in smoke from the fires Kayden had lit was soothed and became normal. As it worked through my system Sookie came in with towels over her shoulders and two giant bowls.

"I didn't know if you needed warm water or cold, so I brought both," Sookie told me as she set them up on the nightstand next to me. I stopped sucking at Eric's bleeding wrist and licked my lips, feeling ashamed for accepting his help and how intimate it must be and self-conscious of it lingering on my lips.

Sookie looked down at my nakedness but didn't comment. She glanced at where Kayden had stabbed me and returned my gaze.

"You know," she said as she walked across the room to the door again. "You should have some more blood, it may fix that on your stomach. I'm gonna get you a gown and a robe, so you don't feel so uncomfortable." She walked off to her room after that.

I brought his wrist to my lips again and saw that the wounds were already healing for him. He looked like he was going to draw it back and reopen them but I stopped him and said, "Let me."

I gently brought my mouth around his wrist and bit down. My teeth were a little dull but I could cap them with icy tips and the fact that I could do that at all made me happy. It must be working then. I pierced his skin with my ice tipped teeth and felt the blood flow into my mouth again. Thick and heady and full of magic, I consumed him. The essence of Eric brought me health and revived my tired cells and body. It was intimate and familiar and confusing all at once. I felt a tendril of emotion slipping through and became excited. I recognized the emotion and I stopped before I could even get going. I wouldn't indulge this after everything that happened tonight. Lust would not win out over healing and mourning.

Sookie returned as I was licking up the blood on Eric's wrist and pushing toward him to lick my lips and feel cleaner. Eric looked uncomfortably shaken and stood allowing Sookie to take his place.

"I'm sorry, Sookie," I breathed. I didn't want to test speaking too much but I had to make sure I could breathe normally. "I never meant to involve you in any of this, and I didn't want anything to happen to your home."

"Don't you even sweat it, I'm sorry I called you a bitch and didn't help you more. I'm just a plain old girl with too much goin' on around her," she told me in her usual fashion. She turned to Eric and said, can you please make sure that everything gets cleaned up, I'm gonna call Sam in a while and let him know I need tomorrow off, too. On account of I need to do some fixing up again."

Eric met her gaze and gave a quick nod then headed to make a phone call. I couldn't imagine who he needed to talk to but I focused on Sookie. She dipped a towel rag into one of the bowls and rung it out with her hands over the bowl. She stared with cold first, and I was grateful. It soothed the burning feeling around the wound and brought my temperature back to normal for me. My hair still shimmered in the light of the room, I hadn't changed back into a more vulnerable human form yet.


	11. Chapter 11

Sookie deserved a lot of credit, she could clean a wound exceptionally well and hadn't seemed fazed by my nakedness in any form. Growing up in the south I knew it was probably uncomfortable to see anyone naked unless you were their mother or their spouse, but she didn't bat an eye. Eric had made a call to a supe doctor who came after he had removed Derek and cleaned the hallway with enough bleach diluted water to fill an above ground pool it seemed.

The doctor was a small woman, short in stature and hunched slightly with a scrunched up face. She was ornery but able to assure me that the wound would heal quickly thanks to Eric and Sookie's help. When she looked at my face she mumbled something under her breath that I didn't catch, but Eric did.

"Do you know this woman," he asked me as the doctor gathered her things and made to exit the room. I looked once again and shook my head. She took at as a dismissal and tried to leave again, but Eric stepped in front of her.

"How do you know this patient?" Eric asked her, drawing her gaze up to meet his. She didn't answer him, just stood there tapping one of her feet impatiently waiting to leave. He turned to me then and asked, "Would you show her your transformation? If you can?"

I already knew that I was healing faster, my appetite had returned and I had felt much better than I ever had after so much activity. I stood, night gown and robe flowing over me and willed myself to let go of the image of a human body. My hair cascaded longer than before and had the unearthly sheen from the blue now mixed with the black. My skin lightened once again, revealing the scars across my arms and anywhere else visible. Although my body had only grown an inch or so in the transformation, everything else remained the same. Anatomically we are similar enough to humans that we could blend in, with a little willpower and magic. I suppose it is like a glamour, except it affects the body's image not people's thoughts and memories.

The doctor inhaled sharply. "Damn it," she exhaled. I stood still and reversed the effects near the bed waiting for permission to finally get some rest. If my dreams didn't wake me and keep me from sleep.

Eric's stern look centered on the little woman and waited. "What do you know about this," she asked Eric directly. "Have you bonded by any means?" I let out a sigh and nodded solemnly. Eric described to her two nights ago and how I had tried to heal his wounds because I wasn't familiar with vampire healing abilities.

"No, no," she said exasperated and upset. "This affects you both. You especially, Northman."

She shuffled across the room to the opposite side of the bed and motioned for me to sit down with her on the bed, I took my place across the width of the bed and Eric remained stoically standing at the foot of the bed. He had told Sookie he would watch over me with the doctor while she called Sam and explained what happened for both of us. Her called had been delayed by a late night caller in the form of Bill Compton, who would be helping her finish up cleaning before she finally went to sleep and fixing the door enough until repairman could come in the morning. Even at midnight, it seemed like the night would stretch on forever to me.

"Dr. Ludwig," Eric pressed. "What do you mean this affects us both?"

She sighed and began to describe to him what I should have thought of, and had I talked to Derek, would have known.

"This woman, this being, is a creature of a much different magic than any on this Earth possess. That she can change by will is something I am not even sure of myself except that I've seen it. She is purely made of magic, though she has form, these beings are ruled by a different force altogether." She paused then, letting it sink in for both of us.

She turned abruptly after a moment and asked me, "Can you sing, darling?"

Taken aback I answered honestly, which proved to be an even worse idea than I could have thought. "Yes," I said simply.

Dr. Ludwig shook her head and began mumbling under her breath before catching the flare of Eric's eyebrows and nostrils as he glared down at her small stature awaiting more answers.

"This creature will change you Eric, she is not subject to our laws and rules here. She walks alone in this world and does not belong, but she will take you many different places if you don't let go now."

"Why is that, what magic does she possess that is so different from the witches and demons who walk among us?"

Demons. That was a new one that I wasn't touching with a ten foot pole. No, scratch that, a fucking sixty foot pole. I truly had no idea what surrounded me here, and it may prove the death of me if my brother didn't manage to get to me first.

"She is the water in the air, she is it flowing in your veins, and she is eternal in a sense more than you will ever be. Her only death will be at the hand of another immortal because even her people have not had the likes of her abilities in millennia. I know this because I was visiting a patient across the country when I came across creatures so strange I had never dreamed them possible. I ensured their child was healthy and safe, despite her mother's foolish choice to remake her and mold her memories differently. I did not know they had died, I am sorry child." She patted my hand softly, and it seemed at odds with the gruffness that surrounded her normally. I was still processing that she had seen me before.

She knew my parents. She knew me. Had she helped place me with the family I had grown up with, and still called my own? The ones I had run away from to protect? She scoffed then said, "That servant girl was a loyal one, poor thing. She must have done something right, finding normal humans to raise you and give you the best life they could."

"Wait," I asked. "You're saying that you not only saw me when I was a baby, but you knew what we were? That we weren't even –" I had to stop and find the words swimming in my head. "We weren't from this planet?"

"Yes," she replied dryly. "I didn't want to involve myself any further, it would have been dangerous. Leave it to the Viking to bring me into the worst situations," she scoffed.

Eric had been eerily silent during Ludwig's proclamation and seemed to be mulling it over. It never ceased to surprise me how unfettered he was by these huge revelations, but the small things caught him off guard about me.

"How will she affect me if she isn't even in control of her abilities?" Eric asked Ludwig. "She doesn't even seem to know what she is capable of as it is."

"She will draw you into her world, intentionally or not, and it will be difficult, if not impossible to leave. Untangle yourselves now, before you are any more intertwined and fate may work this out to be a chance meeting instead of a pairing of circumstance," Ludwig replied.

I wasn't sure what she meant by that but I kept quiet and would think about it before I slept. And probably while I slept.

"What do you mean, 'pairing of circumstance'? Ludwig, explain this to me." Leave it to Eric to not let it be and move on. She sighed again and met his eyes.

"She is royalty that much everyone is aware of at this point." She gathered her words and began anew. "She will need someone by her side, more than advisors to guide her. She needs a strong presence to rule with her, and as I noticed," Eric's eyes as well as my own widened. "Her chosen is no more. She has the ability to remake her world as it should be and was well on her way to doing so. It is an unfortunate thing that she no longer has someone to be a king with her."

Dr. Ludwig looked pointedly at Eric, as though it was his fault that Derek had died but it wasn't his fault. It may have been a fit of jealous rage, but my brother was to blame, not Eric.

"Do not imply that I would be able to fill this position," Eric stated. Then he added, "Or willing to. I have much more pressing matters here that require my attention." As if that settled it he began to walk toward the door. He looked over his shoulder at the doctor and said, "I'll send you the money to cover her care. Thank you, your services are no longer needed."

Dr. Ludwig harrumphed and slid off the bed and collected her bag as she left. Any more insight I could gain about my new situation walked out of the bedroom and left me standing awkwardly alone in a bedroom I wasn't familiar with. I walked through the room and down the hallway, intending to get a glass of water to take with me to bed; I'd seen some coasters somewhere and would make sure not to leave a water ring on the nightstand when I returned.

Entering the kitchen I noticed Sookie coming in from the porch, Bill following behind her. The debris had been cleared and the harsh smell of bleach permeated the house, so the breeze that blew in with them smelled like heaven. Sookie gave a shy smile and asked how the doc's visit had gone. I told her it had gone well and that I was on the mend and should be out of her hair by tomorrow or the next day.

She was perfectly hospitable and willing to let me stay longer but I insisted that I was too much of a danger to her to stay longer than necessary. Her strained expression told me she was thinking the same thing but was too polite to say so. She handed me a glass from the cabinet and excused herself to go to bed, saying good night to both Bill and me. Bill lingered, brooding in the kitchen and staring at the back of my head.

As I turned to leave, Bill blocked my way and glared at me. He stared down at me with an odd look, and I took in his appearance. He was taller than me, but still much shorter than Eric, or even my former lover. His dark locks were lengthy but still more conservative and shorter than Eric's and his sideburns were a picture of the era he was turned. It could have been the 1960's if I hadn't heard about his history from Sookie and other people at Merlottes before, but I knew better.

Bill continued looking at me in wrinkled clothes from his jot over and said, "You've put Sookie in serious danger." I gave him a questioning look and he answered it with, "I think you should leave immediately."

I frowned at him and said, "I had every intention of leaving tonight, but I nearly died. I'm mending as we speak and if in the morning I am well enough, I will be leaving. I don't want to involve anyone in my problems, but they tend to encompass more than I am able to protect right now."

Bill glared at me then stepped aside to let me pass, gliding out the back door before I was even across the hall. I stepped into the room I would be staying in and was surprised to see Eric sitting on the bed, legs stretched out across the length of it. His boots were on the floor beside the bed opposite my blood stained clothes. I hadn't wanted to throw them out, they were all I had left of Derek because we had never exchanged gifts, and the few pictures I had were of my family. I only had one of him.

Eric stood and pulled the covers back for me, and odd gesture but I accepted it. Once he had tucked me in he sat beside me on the other side of the bed, on top of the covers. I sipped my water and placed it on the coaster I hadn't noticed there until I needed to set my glass down. He let me get comfortable with his silence before saying, "Bill is rude, ignore him. His affections for Sookie still cloud his judgment in many cases."

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "It's fine, I understand what he's saying. I should go." My brows furrowed and my head hung in shame. I seemed to bring disaster where ever I went, too. Maybe Kayden and I weren't so different, if my life was any indication.

"Tristan, if you truly feel that way you may stay with me. I have an excellent security system," Eric said, trying to cheer me up. What he succeeded in doing was frightening me by his words. The thought of staying alone with Eric, even now in the room across from Sookie, sent shivers down my spine and made my heart flutter. But it also made me think about how little I knew about him.

I turned under the covers and faced Eric. "That is a kind offer, but I can't involve you any more than I already have," I told him. Decisively stating that he couldn't be a part of my journey seemed like a good thing in that moment, and separating myself from this world before Kayden unleashed his fury and madness on everyone I had ever met here was the best option I had.

Eric's face was blank, like he was processing and choosing his words before saying them. Making sure they were perfect. He turned to me after a moment and said, "It is your choice, but the invitation stands. You intrigue me, and while I may have responsibilities and duties here, you are still within my area. I am honor bound to protect you, in a manner of speaking."

That wasn't the way it had sounded when I had asked Sookie about vampire politics, but I was also hearing second hand, so I couldn't be sure. Maybe he was putting too much of a personal spin on it or maybe I was wishing. I met his eyes. "I see," was my response. "Tell me about you're past. Anything really, I just need something to fall asleep to that isn't tied to this moment, this everything," I confessed


	12. Chapter 12

Eric glanced down at me starting to slide under the covers more and his face softened. I don't know what came over either of us but he obliged me and told me stories about growing up in a tribe of Vikings. Becoming a man at such a young age, and being the son of a chieftain. My eyes were drooping before long and Eric tucked the sheets tighter around me, making me feel like a human burrito. I giggled then had to explain my sleep slow reason for giggling.

"You are a remarkable creature, and I am afraid of my fascination with you," Eric said softly. He leaned down, almost crouching on the bed and pressed his lips to mine. As tucked in as I was, I noticed our bodies were a similar temperature. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with my wound or me generally but it made me feel more connected to him. I pressed my lips back against him impulsively, acting on the reason that I was alone and needed to feel comfort I was familiar with, logic be damned.

Eric sucked in a breath and pressed on, cradling the back of my head with his giant hand and drawing me close to him through the covers. His tongue parted our lips and I felt electric with need and desire, sleep forgotten somehow. This kiss was different, it was searching, asking for permission almost. In response I deepened it, allowing him further into my solitude and my heart. I might be making a mistake in this moment, but I couldn't think past what I was physically feeling and reacting to it.

I tugged at the blankets and Eric helped me push them down, now underneath them with me, just barely. His hand moved from my head to the small of my back and drew my body to him, inviting me to feel every inch of him with my body pressed against it. Each plane was new to me, and exciting. I ran my hands through his hair and left one tangled there while the other wandered the expanse of his chest and his back, pushing his jacket past his shoulders and to the edge of the bed.

"How well can you keep quiet," Eric panted in my ear after breaking our kiss.

"Why?" I asked him. "What are you going to do?" He nuzzled my neck down to my collar bone and nipped there. He didn't draw any blood but made sure I was waiting, hanging on his every move.

"Something I probably shouldn't do," was his quick answer as he met my lips again. We kissed deeply and our hands wandered across each other's bodies. One of his hands was around my neck and jaw, the other on my hip rubbing circles through the fabric of the gown Sookie had lent me. He pulled away from the kiss just a little bit and made a small noise of pain then quickened the pace.

I tasted his blood for the second time that night as his tongue massaged mine and blood slipped down my throat. I felt his fangs as we kissed and a thrill went through me. He pulled me into his mouth and scraped a single fang across my tongue, drawing my blood. My blood mingled with his and together it tasted sweet and full. Through the layers of fabric between us I could feel his need pressing against my stomach and I moaned quietly into the kiss.

Eric's hand on my hip stopped its movement and wrapped around my waist drawing me closer still. I moved my hand from the shoulder I was resting it on and slipped it beneath his shirt. I was surprised to find a soft downy layer of curls trailing from his waist up to his pecs. I trailed my fingers through it as he broke away again to remove his shirt at an agonizingly slow pace. I had seen how fast he could move, I knew he was enjoying it as much as I was.

That thought spread like wildfire through me. Stopping cold, I backpedaled to the edge of the bed and nearly fell off. Eric's arms reached out and caught me before I could fall and pulled me back up to him. He looked confused and slightly hurt but his pride could manage. I couldn't believe myself and became appalled at my behavior.

"Tristan," Eric pried. I didn't respond. He brought a hand to my face, pulling a strand of hair back and behind my ear. "Tristan, what is it, what's wrong?"

I couldn't meet his eyes and speak so I looked at the space of the bed between us and how small it was.

"I just lost my lover, my best friend. I've been chased all across the universe by my psychotic half-brother who is hell-bent on forcing me to submit to him and become his queen consort, propagating his bloodline and destroying my own. I have no idea how to run my life, let alone rule an entire kingdom on a different planet. And I'm in bed with you, literally almost throwing myself into your advances because I'm grief stricken and I nearly died." I stopped to catch my breath and continued on. "I don't even know you, Eric, and I can't say that anything is right at this given moment. I certainly can't condone my behavior even if I sort of think you're devilishly handsome and I can't stand it."

Eric's eyes lit up at that comment, softening his knitted brows and hardened face. He was as much a mystery to me as I was to him, and falling into each other right now was not the best course of action. But could I really stop him if he insisted in his perusal of me? Would I be able to fend him off if I did what I was supposed to and returned home and left this world altogether?

"Tristan," Eric began again. "You are so much like Sookie in some ways, it scares me." He lifted my hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it, leaving a wet red mark of blood where his lips had touched me. He smirked and licked the blood clean off sending shivers across my body. He set my hand down and met my eyes, making sure I understood him

"If you do not want this gift to lose yourself for a night and forget your worries with me, I will stop right now and leave you alone to be with yourself." I rose an eyebrow in question and Eric continued. "But if you would like to forget all of the pain and the horrors of your past, the possibilities that await you, and everything that has happened these last few days, I can do that for you. Allow me to comfort you now so you can rest and be on your way when you are ready."

I took a deep breath and let it out. Then I did it again, and the third time I counted out the seconds it took me to inhale and exhale. I was so tempted, to throw myself into his arms and ride away, probably figuratively and literally into oblivion.

"Eric, I-" before I could say another word his lips were on mine and the tangy sweet flavor of blood filled my mouth as he kissed me again. I pulled myself away reluctantly. It felt wonderful to be lost in something other than my sorrow and fear.

"I can't, Eric," I said before he could cover my lips again. "I can't do that to his memory, to him."

Eric's face settled into a scowl that could have leveled buildings. "You didn't seem so concerned earlier, when you were trying to undress me," Eric pointed out. I blushed crimson and cast my eyes down.

"Like most of the living populace here, I have hormones too," I quipped. Just because I didn't control myself for half an hour didn't mean I was unfit to lead a people, did it?

"Very well then, if you wish to be left to yourself I will be going. Pamela is expecting me to check in for the night and she will be pleased that I am actually returning," he said sliding off the bed and returning his shirt over his chest and his jacket to his frame. As he walked to the door I wanted to speak up and stop him, ask him to stay just a little while longer but doing so would be unwise. It surprised me when Eric stopped in the door frame and turned to me.

"You wished to bury him? And have a special place you could visit?" He asked me watching my reaction. I nodded unsure of my ability to speak on the matter.

"I can offer you a place, if you wish," Eric said. I mulled it over for a few seconds then said, "I appreciate that, but to truly honor him I cannot commit him to the earth. He must be remembered by fire. It is in his blood and of his people. Even if we were to be bonded together I would still have to honor his heritage. I would not do him justice otherwise."

I noticed the surprise in Eric's eyes, probably recalling a distant memory of a friend or kinsman laid to rest the same way. "I understand it is what you're people did as well," I questioned him.

"Yes, our great warriors and brave, honorable souls were given such rites at their deaths," Eric answered me. "But I have not made such a sight in many centuries."

I pushed the covers back on the bed and flung my feet over the edge. Sliding off the bed I padded over to where Eric stood. "Where is he, can I see him?" I asked doubtful he would let me. "I need to put him in a stasis so that he will not decompose any faster. It is hot and humid here, neither of which are kind to corpses."

Eric let out a breath and took my hand. I couldn't cover my heart skipping a beat but I didn't meet his gaze when he heard it. As he led me through the kitchen and off the back porch I began to wonder if I could do what I had to. This would be my first time truly seeing him as he was now, a corpse that had been my lover.

Eric led me to the toolshed beside Sookie's house and opened the door slowly. Inside wrapped in a tarp that didn't cover him completely was Derek's body. I stood in the entry still not quite believing what I saw despite all the evidence stacked against my denial. Eric ushered me forward and left the door slightly ajar so the moonlight could illuminate the small space. I knelt on the ground and pulled the tarp away.

In the sliver of moonlight I drew from my own energy to provide Derek with this final gift I could give him. I gently touched his hand, even though he couldn't feel it, and began to encase it and the rest of him in a pool of water that shimmered and moved as it crept across his body to swallow him whole. Once I was satisfied that he was completely surrounded by the moving essence I focused on it and hardened it, almost like I were making a glass coffin.

Eric watch on silently, allowing me to grieve in peace as I completed my task. The effort had drained me, and because I wasn't fully healed yet, I would need to rest even more when I went back into the house. In the time it took to keep Derek's body from decomposing I had thought about Eric's offer to stay with him. I knew that it wasn't smart to rush into anything, especially when I hadn't buried my dead. Still, if anyone was capable of keeping me safe now, there was a good chance he was it.

I stood shakily and took Eric's hand when he offered it while we walked the short distance back to the porch and into the house. When I had been tucked into the bed once more and Eric stood to leave I stopped him and asked, "Would you stay with me, please?" His eyebrow crooked and a smirk spread across his lips.

"I thought it was unwise for you to, what did you say, 'throw yourself at my advances'?" Eric threw back at me, using my words against me. I should have known and expected it but it stung just a little, even if I deserved it.

"I did," I conceded. "Just for a little while? Until I fall asleep, then you may take your leave," I finished, hoping I didn't sound like a fickle little girl who couldn't make up her mind. Eric smiled then and came to sit by me on the bed. He put one arm around my shoulders and placed my head in his lap while he stroked my hair down my back. His other hand held his phone, which he was texting furiously fast on that I couldn't have read if I wanted to. I fell asleep to his texting and my slow steady breathing faster than I expected, but I slept the whole night through and well into the next morning without waking once.


	13. Chapter 13

Sookie had been kind enough to let me sleep through the morning and had lunch ready when I sauntered out of the bedroom, hair messy and standing every which way. I had left the robe lying across the foot of the bed, the temperature rises quickly in Louisiana during the day and I wouldn't need it. The ankle length gown stuck to my back as I walked and swayed from side to side. After I used the bathroom I went back into the room and dressed in my spare clothes, a bright blue fitted tank top and dark wash skinny jeans with black running shoes and matching socks.

I walked through the house and into the kitchen to see Sookie had made bacon earlier in the day and picked some fresh tomatoes from her garden. With the head of lettuce in the fridge she put together some quick and tasty BLT sandwiches for us to eat with our sweet tea. The bacon was nice and crispy from the oven and the tomatoes were ripe and sweet. We made some small talk that went nowhere because we were too preoccupied with avoiding the events of the night before.

As traumatic and horrifying as it might have been for Sookie, she hadn't lost anyone or nearly been killed. Since I seem to hold all the records for worst luck, it didn't surprise me when she asked about after she had gone to bed. Bed didn't necessitate sleeping, just being in a room separated from others with the semblance of going to sleep.

"I heard you step out last night after I went to bed," Sookie hedged. I wasn't looking forward to talking about Derek anytime soon, but I knew I would have to face the facts sooner or later so I took a breath and nodded to her. "What were you doing?" she asked me point blank.

The breath I was holding slipped past my lips. I opened and closed my lips like a fish out of water and Sookie said, "It's alright, you don't have to tell me."

"No," I stopped her questioning gaze and decided to tell her the truth. Or most of it, anyway. "No, it's fine, I was just checking on-" I stopped for a moment stumbling over the words I didn't want to utter in the same sentence. "I was checking on Derek's…body." I finished lamely.

"Oh," Sookie exclaimed.

"I wanted to make sure that the humidity didn't get to him," I told her.

"How's that?" she asked.

And I told her about Eric coming with me to the shed and telling me to ignore Bill. About putting a stasis spell, since I had nothing else to call it, on Derek's body to preserve it for the time being until I could take it somewhere to remember him properly. I didn't tell her about Eric and I making out in her guest bed, which I later found out used to be hers and I didn't tell her about Eric cuddling me and putting me to sleep.

She seemed to understand my need to remember him and give him the proper send off, but she didn't understand why I wanted to make a funeral pyre instead of burying him. When I explained that was how they remembered their dead and had we been on my home planet the method would have been the same because of his heritage, she acquiesced. We spent the afternoon finding a body of water that wasn't swampy that was near-by but still remote enough that there weren't constant visitors or residents and planned to take his body that night.

I took what time I could and gathered fallen limbs and kindling. I knew we would need a lot of wood, but there was plenty of dead wood around Sookie's property since it was surrounded by woods and a cemetery. I had brought nearly a truck bed full of branches, limbs and kindling sticks back by the time it was dark, and Sookie had called her brother to borrow his truck. He had dropped it off and taken Sookie's car, planning on taking his girlfriend out on a nice date with it in Shreveport.

Eric magically appeared and somehow managed to have Pam bring him a Lincoln Town Car for him to use for the evening. I suspected that he had been staying at Sookie's in the hidey hole I had yet to discover and had either wanted time to talk with Sookie alone or become obsessed with my predicament. I was leaning toward the latter, but I might have been thinking a little more wishfully than I should have.

I was beyond surprised when Eric walked over to the shed and removed Derek from it and placed him in the trunk, still wrapped in the too small tarp. Obliviously being pulled over with a body visible in the car wasn't ideal, even if there was no proof that you had made the body. Sookie grabbed some old newspapers and lighter fluid before tossing them in the cab. Eric quickly ran through and grabbed some more substantial pieces of wood that I wouldn't have been able to carry. I had a few lengths of traditional rope in my car that I grabbed and Eric tossed them in the back of his car.

Sookie's brother, Jason, hadn't cleaned his truck and Sookie didn't want me to have to ride in the passenger seat with trash all around me so I ended up riding in the car with Eric in an uncomfortable and awkward silence, despite the bonding we seemed to have done the previous night. He turned the radio on to a classical station as we made our way to a small lake that was half an hour from Sookie's house.

I let the music wash over me and numb my mind. Half way there after an adagio by Mozart finished, Eric changed the station to a local one playing soul-searing alternative rock. Three Days Grace came on and I blushed. The lyrics seemed inappropriate given the circumstances. As much as I wouldn't mind losing myself with Eric, I couldn't do that when I was about to send my lover off to his final rest.

Eric didn't care about the appropriateness and took the opportunity to take one of my unguarded hands. He held it lightly, allowing me to choose if I kept my hand in his and rubbed small circles on the back of my hand. I let him do that, because I knew I had to remain calm, or I wouldn't make it through the ceremony of setting Derek ablaze and shoving him out into the middle of a lake.

I glanced beside me to see Eric's eyes watching me instead of the road. I should have been afraid for my life, but I trusted his reflexes to react in time, should they need to. I trusted him against every fiber in me and I didn't know why I trusted him. I hadn't had any time to learn more about him than his hard and often bipolar seeming exterior and the glimpse I had of his past life, when he was human did little to illuminate his personality for me.

The song had changed, some angst filled teen anthem, popular with a crowd much younger than I was, and the silence that had settled into the car echoed off every surface. It had been comfortable, driving with Eric holding my hand and knowing he was there for me as support if I needed it. I should have realized that things seeming so easy and carefree would be temporary. The universe hadn't been kind to me yet, and it wasn't about to start now, just because I was mourning someone special to me. If anything, it was a challenge to see exactly how much I could take before I broke clean in half and gave up on everything that had kept me going so far.

When we finally reached the lake Eric pulled up beside Jason's truck and released my hand and turned the car off in almost one movement. He turned to me before opening the door and said, "You look wonderful in that color. You should wear it more often."

I shrugged off the comment and opened my door, exiting in sync with Eric. Sookie was climbing out of the truck while Eric unloaded the wood. I grabbed the rope I had brought along and moved to the trunk. I opened it slowly and focused my attention on reversing the stasis I had put on Derek's body then tried to maneuver him out of the trunk. Eric noticed me struggling.

"Here, let me."

He lifted Derek from the trunk and placed him on the ground between the vehicles and continued to unload everything for the pyre we were going to make. I walked to the edge of the water and took my shoes and socks off, rolling my jeans up so they didn't get wet. I wanted to connect to this space and consecrate it in my own rite, make it special for the send-off I wasn't prepared to give.

Eric had seen and probably assembled many pyres in his existence so I let him take the lead, not wanting to make it incorrectly or leave something out. As he assembled the pyre and tied pieces together with my rope I brought the newspapers and lighter fluid out of the passenger side of Jason's truck. Eric lifted Derek's body again and placed it gently on top. Sookie and I poured lighter fluid over the newspapers and stuffed them in every open space we could reach and squirted the rest everywhere on the pyre but the body and gently shoved it into the water.

There was a moment I was afraid that it would sink and I would have failed him again, but the wood was all dry and ready to burn. I struck a match and stepped into its wake. Flinging it across the water it hit a patch of wood covered in lighter fluid. I struck a few more and threw them on the other side and the whole pyre was ablaze with light. I beckoned the water to make small waves that wouldn't extinguish the fire but would push it further out onto the lake and allow it to fully burn out.

As it moved closer to the center of the water I began to feel the ache this night would leave on my soul. A crushing wave of defeat swept over me, causing me to step backward and into Eric's stiff postured body. I hadn't heard him wade out behind me so the shock of not falling over and being dripping wet was nice, but it was also confusing. He had no connection to Derek at all and despite making connections with me, we didn't have a relationship to speak of. It seemed wrong to start anything now, especially given that he and Sookie weren't on the best of terms and he was off getting engaged to queens and what not.

It's not to say he wasn't tempting, and that I couldn't hold my own, but why would I want to? Why should I have to? I had more than enough to deal with trying to create a plan to defeat my depraved, psychotic brother, learning how to run an entire kingdom I hadn't been a part of for my entire existence on Earth, and simply deciding if I even wanted to try at any of it. Not to mentioned discovering if my sister was able to be saved, and if she was able, would it be worth it? I didn't need a complicated love tri-quad-multi-anything distracting me.

Fate is a fickle bitch that way.

The ride back to Sookie's place was long and uneventful. When I got out of the town car and Sookie called her brother to let him know his truck was ready and still pristine, on the outside, I found a note attached to my car under one of the wipers. It was a simple piece of heavy paper folded over once. Only my name was on the top of it, so whoever had placed it there knew who I really was. This could not be good. I tried to hide it from Eric, since he seemed the likely one to notice and failed miserably.

"What's that you're trying to hide?" he questioned me as he pulled it from my grasp that may as well have been water for all the effort he put into it.

"I don't know," I told him. "I haven't looked at it yet."

He lifted the top half and a frown crossed his features but he hid it quickly then folded it over and handed it back to me. He shrugged and stepped away from my car calling Pam to come and pick up his vehicle as he had to before with his Corvette. I hadn't taken notice then, but I did now. He was perfectly capable of driving his own car back to Shreveport and staying there but he was choosing to stick behind and see what the rest of the night would bring.

I folded the paper up and looked at what Eric had seen.

 _Tristan,_

 _Daughter of Lilith and Caleb and heir to the throne of hiems regnum, the council of elders requests your presence this evening. In light of your coming of age we would like to relinquish to you the power to rule as is your birthright. There is a ceremony that must be performed at the apex of the silver light, and your chosen mate must accompany you to validate your claim. May the goddess be with you to guide your decision. If you choose to move forward we will meet you as you are, and the senate will brief you upon your return, kindest regards_

 _Elder Avitis_

It was a short note but its meaning was clear. Somehow the elders had been able to keep track of me, and it may have been how Kayden was able to find me as often as he had. That didn't matter, what did was that they believed I was ready and capable of sustaining the kingdom and becoming the leader my people needed. I wasn't sure I trusted their judgment but I wouldn't shy away from it when it was offered up so completely. There was only one kink in my ability to take over the power they were offering me.

What mate were they talking about? Derek had died, and I had no one else. All other suitors had assumed me dead I was sure, and had no doubt found themselves someone else to marry. I was no shrew, but I wasn't interested in being controlled by the person I was bound to, either. I also couldn't understand why I needed someone else to validate for me that I was competent to rule, if the council meant to go through the ceremony of implementing me into a seat of power. What was that all about?


	14. Chapter 14

I decided to ignore that part and focus on the rest of the note. The silver light must have been the moon, which was dangerously close to the center of the sky. How did I get word to the council to let them know my choice? Would they show up and ask me or would they expect me to seek them out, somewhere undisclosed and reveal my intentions? I had little time to think, and I was getting more worried because I was alone in this now, I had no one to sound my thoughts off of. I could have conceded that I made it so, in trying to run from my responsibilities in the first place, but I couldn't afford to wallow and be distraught.

I had been pacing beside my car and didn't hear or see Eric watching me from the back porch. Pam hadn't arrived yet to collect the car and Sookie had retreated inside the house, presumably to clean and take her mind off of this evening. I didn't blame her at all and envied her the ability to lose herself in something so normal and mundane. I no longer had that luxury, if the council accepted my pledge to service by my birthright to rule and protect my kingdom.

When I stopped and leaned on my car I finally saw Eric watching me. He met my gaze unflinching and slid down the steps. I could walk to either end of my car for more space but I felt that contradicted what I was about to do, so I stayed, leaning against the rear passenger door. Eric stopped a few steps in front of me and stared down at me, trying to figure something out.

"You finally stopped pacing like a trapped animal," he observed.

"So I have," I came back smoothly. "Thanks for noticing."

A smirk turned his mouth up at one corner, crinkling the corner of his eye.

"Do you believe this to be a truthful letter?" he asked me, taking the paper I still held.

I thought about it. I hadn't occurred to me to think about it that way. What if this was a trap Kayden had set and I walked right into it? "I don't know," I said sheepishly. I would need to consider everything much more if I truly were to rule the kingdom, and I would have to be constantly alert for hidden dangers and threats.

"I think you should stay," he said softly. I wouldn't have caught it except I had seen his lips moving to form the words.

"Why?"

"Because, Tristan, it may not be safe," Eric pleaded. The tone in his voice left no room for doubt. "I have become very fond of you, I wouldn't want something unfortunate to occur."

I considered what he was saying and wanted desperately for him to be wrong. There was a chance that my life was at stake going to some meeting I had heard of only moments before it happened, and with no explanation other than a letter with vague description. Then I realized that didn't matter, because my entire adult life on this Earth I had been running, from my responsibilities, my fear, and for my life. Nothing had changed, except my sworn protector was now dead and carrying on in the afterlife, unable to save me from myself.

To be honest, he may not have been able to save me from myself at all, but he could protect my life. Because to be saved from oneself implies that they want and are capable of moving past their fears and insecurities, their faults and problems, to become something better than they were. I wasn't sure I could do that, not for all the love in the universe. So when I answered Eric with my final decision I was only mildly surprised by his actions and words.

"I will go, because it is the one chance I may have here to claim my birthright. I cannot let my people suffer blindly and without hope any longer because I am afraid or feel incompetent. Like anything else in life, I will have to learn by doing, even if it is difficult and painful for me," I told him stubbornly. Not even a moment after I heard his reply.

"I will accompany you, for your protection and a quick escape. Should it prove necessary."

"I appreciated that, Eric," I said, thankful for his help and support even though I was sure the strings were being attached as we spoke. I went in the house after that, careful to avoid stepping into his orbit as I passed, and gathered the few articles of clothing and toiletries I had brought into Sookie's home.

I let her know that I was grateful for her hospitality and sorry for leaving without repaying her kindness. I knew how much of a danger I was to her, even more so than the creatures she already associated with, and for her protection I would be setting out on my journey. I didn't mention that I was also going to a secret meeting to potentially claim a birthright I wasn't sure I would be able to live up to, and that Eric was coming with me. He could figure that out for himself.

Was it cold and selfish of me to withhold that information? To force him to make up his own excuses? Maybe, but it was in my nature, if only by the power I possessed and the extent to which I had already used it. Add to that, I didn't want to drag her into more danger because she insisted on coming for moral support or anything else like it. I needed to learn to stand on my own, a lesson I had paid for dearly and would continue to suffer from for the foreseeable future.

As I put my belongings into the trunk space my eyes landed on the large plastic bag with some of Derek's possessions. In the dark and seemingly alone, I let out tears for his passing and allowed my emotions to control me for the moment. A cold wind swept around me and blew my hair into my hatchback and I felt the bitter iciness deep in my bones. My fingertips turned blue and my eyes pricked with ice instead of tears, somehow I had managed to move through a change in appearance without noticing. As that thought crossed my mind I felt arms wrap around me and I forgot that they weren't my lovers, the one I had grown close to through the years.

Eric held me, wind whipping our hair wildly and tangling it together. It was intimate and close, but there was no undercurrent of urgency or need, no sexual tension to break how special this was to me. His presence grounded me and brought me back to myself, or who I was without the titles and expectations. I looked down at his hands, giant in comparison to mine and peeled them away slowly and turned to face him. Tears of ice still clung to my cheeks and chin but he ignored them and watched me, waiting for me to make a move. I couldn't kiss him after that, but I could hold him, too. So I did.

I wrapped my tiny arms around his midsection and held on for dear life. I breathed in his scent, icy and dry, but wholly masculine. It was different than my former lover's but it was a difference I embraced. Like a new chapter in a book, I was starting over, but this was more than that. I was embracing an entire system of government, style of living, culture differences I wasn't sure about and people I had been out of contact with my entire life, on the hope that this would make me whole. I had never felt more alone and I was glad to have any company, my brother and sister excluded, even if we weren't close.

"Thank you," I exhaled quietly. There was no other way to say it without breaking the peacefulness of the moment.

"You're welcome," Eric said, brushing my hair smooth down my back. I broke my hold and let him step away. I met his eyes and allowed myself to smile. It was hollow and weak, not lighting my eyes, but it added to my thank you in a different way.

I reached up to pull down the hatchback and closed it before heading to the driver's seat. Eric climbed in beside me with the grace of a cat, looking too big for the space he occupied. It was cramped not because of my belongs scattered about the car, but because it was small and intended for people no taller than five foot eight, I'm sure.

I turned over the engine and began to turn around in Sookie's drive way. I didn't know which way to go from there, so at the end by her mailbox I paused. It seemed silly to go back to where we had come, so I asked where a stretch of highway that was never busy would be. Eric directed me and we drove in relative silence. I hadn't changed the disc in my car stereo since I had been reunited with my car, only the volume, so when a song came on that reminded me of Derek, I found it difficult to breathe. I had to concentrate on the lines beside my car and the lack of headlights coming toward me to keep driving without ending up in a ditch.

I must have been too erratic in my driving for Eric. He looked positively sick, and I wasn't sure a vampire could get sick, so I slowly pulled over and stepped out of the still running car. He was out and beside me almost instantly, ushering me toward the passenger door so he could deposit me inside and continue on our journey without a destination. A journey that, it seemed, we had found an end to.

We had been completely alone, no other cars or traffic to speak of when I had pulled over, not twenty minutes from where Sookie lived. The moon had painted the gravel a sickly pallor and what little grass that grew beside the road was a sliver-blue. In one beam stood a few graying men in robes elegant and refined that reflected and shimmered as the moon shown on them. To their left and apart from them was the one face I did recognize, Elder Avitis.

So this was where I would become Queen, or the laughingstock of my entire race. On a roadside in rural Louisiana with a vampire beside me, consoling me on the loss of my lover. If anything it had the makings of an awful story or show, and worse yet, a made for T.V. B-rate movie. I guess when destiny chooses you there are no perfect times, right?

I stood, unsure of if I should stay put or walk out to meet them, and also searching for any sign that Kayden was involved in this. So far, he didn't seem to be. Eric took notice, too, and quickly reached behind me to turn off the car. He shut the doors and came to stand by me, placing an arm around my shoulders to guard me from a direct attack. From their distance, none of the council could reach us, but if there were others watching still unseen, they may be able to.

In an unspoken agreement, I began to walk forward, Eric beside me. Down through the rut beside the car, out into a clear field, and toward the council at large. I walked with a confidence I didn't feel, and I stared blankly trying to conceal my fear and doubt. Nothing like this had every occurred in our history, until my father had chosen his bride. I didn't want to make more history simply because I was my father's daughter, but because it was the right time for history to be made.

Heart beating in my throat, and noticing Eric's sidelong glances, we met in the middle, Elder Avitis coming forth to represent a people I hadn't seen for over twenty years. He took my hand and in a grandiose gesture brought it to his lips.

"Your majesty," the Elder gushed. I bowed my head slightly in acknowledgment. I was still uncomfortable with any titles pertaining to my true identity, and that was part of what I had to overcome.

"Elder Avitis," I greeted him warmly. I was nervous and unsure but I wanted to portray myself as my mother always seemed to, polite and ready for any eventuality.

He beckoned me forward taking little notice of Eric other than he was beside me, and brought us toward the rest of the council. From beneath a robe came a scepter and crown, much more opulent than I remembered. I had never seen my parents' crowns up close, but this seemed to be a merging of the two, something new made especially for this occasion and it both frightened and encouraged me.

"Before we begin," Elder Avits stated calmly, "I will need you to announce your name and title, and your purpose from this day onward. If the goddess wills it, so we will accept it, my princess."

My palms began to sweat, and my throat became dry, I stepped forward and left Eric behind me while I trembled from head to toe. I stepped into the semicircle of Elders, and took a breath. I steadied my beating heart and counted to myself to calm the nerves still firing away inside me. I basked in the glow of the moon and met each Elders eyes, steeling myself for this moment.

"I am Tristan, daughter of Caleb and Lilith, crowned rulers of the throne of heims regnum. I come to claim what is my birthright, a seat upon the throne and a chance to lead my people as their rightful queen, henceforth."

As the words left my mouth, I felt no different, the moonlight around us did not change and the wind did not suddenly blow up around us. There was no special or obvious remark upon my short speech, and as the elders looked to one another, they began to murmur amongst themselves. My nerves spiked up again, filling me with dread that I had misspoken or forgotten something when Elder Avitis took the scepter and crown and stood before me.

As he placed the crown upon my head and the scepter in my right hand, he crooned at me, "It is done. The goddess has accepted you as rightful heir and ruler of these people. As her namesake, we offer you our congratulations and presume your marriage bed will be fulfilled within a fortnight. If you wish to stay here on this Earth longer, we will make the arrangements for you to proceed, but we truly hope you will consider returning home after you have wed and consummated your match."

I was in awe of what I was hearing and what had already taken place. I was so close to achieving my goal, and to becoming the ruler my parents had set out to make me. I was stuck on the last part of what I had been told and like the curious girl I was, I asked in spite of myself.

"What do you mean marriage bed? What match do you think I have made? I no longer have a lover and no suitors have approached me. I have no match here as it is."

The Elders shared a knowing look and Avitis spoke once more.

"The one you have brought here tonight, is he not worthy of sharing your burden and responsibility?" he asked gently. He continued on, "Is he not a good match for you, evening your thoughts and emotions and catering to your needs? Is he also not of noble birth and rank, eligible in the ways that are required for your inception to the throne to be considered valid? Will he not validate that you are worthy yourself, to be Queen?"

I caught myself before I scoffed at my Elder and cocked my head to the side, nearly knocking the crown off and into a field irreverently. They couldn't possibly mean Eric, could they? I knew hardly anything about him, and he seemed to be learning more and more about me by the second. How was he qualified, because he had told my brother he was the son of a chieftain? How could they have known unless they had been watching me and not interfered…I couldn't process this right now, or at all tonight, I needed time.

"I suppose he is qualified, but he came as a companion, nothing more," I offered, trying to play off my emotional rollercoaster and gain permission to leave before I burst into flames. "Are you suggesting that there is more to this dynamic?"

A nod from each Elder left me with nothing to say. I tried to keep my mouth from running and causing me problems but I ended up looking like a babbling fool with nothing coming out of my mouth. I shut it immediately and stared at the ground. I had no recourse and nothing to dispute their directive or its meaning. "If this is what the council and the goddess decree, I will see it done," I answered solemnly.

As suddenly as they had appeared, they council began to disappear one by one into the moonlight. Eric slowly crept up beside me and placed a hand in my free one, squeezing it once in a show of solidarity. I knew he had heard every word from the council and none of it escaped his understanding. I was only waiting for him to make a snide remark or comment on how utterly ridiculous it was that I kept drawing him into my problems unintentionally.

Instead he pulled me close and held me a moment, then gently lifted me into his arms. He balanced me expertly, never tipping the crown still atop my head, or dragging the scepter through the dirt. He didn't move at vampire speed or act as though he were more or less than me, but as an equal with the same amount of strength and fortitude about him as I had. A deep rooted sense of self that no one could break, no matter the circumstances. And he was willing to share that with me.

He placed me gently in the car, my car I reminded myself, and went around to the driver's side. Once he was in he turned the car on and changed our direction, taking us to north to Shreveport, instead of south like we had been heading before. I had an idea of where we were going, but I didn't dare speak it. I was in a state of shock but still aware of my surroundings and how they were changing. If I had let myself, I may have taken it back and chosen a different path, one that was easier and less filled with troubles on every side, but I could not dishonor my parents' memories that way. I couldn't disappoint Derek even though he couldn't be disappointed any more than my mother or father.


	15. Chapter 15

Halfway to Shreveport I removed my crown and placed it gently on the seat behind me while laying the scepter across the back. There was still a good distance left for us to travel and the music made our lack of conversation painfully punctuated. I couldn't tell what Eric was thinking or feeling, his face was hiding his emotions well. I tried to find that small insistent feeling, the bond I had created between us, and found I had been cut off. There was nothing for me to feel, except alone. Eric had stood by me this far, but I could understand if he wanted out, this wasn't his fight or his people, and he had responsibilities and people to care for here. I couldn't take him from that.

I hadn't paid attention to how fast we were going, the drive was cathartic and had kept my nerves from coming undone, but when we passed a sign for Shreveport stating its distance as five miles out, I started to take notice. I grew more nervous the closer we got. I licked my lips which were extremely dry and wished for a bottle of water to drink from but I knew there wasn't one around. We drove through the city and into a more suburban area, and came to a gated community. It really through me for a loop, but in an odd way it made sense that Eric would live behind gated walls. He had nearly as many targets on his back as I had, if you considered every reason my brother hated me as a target.

Once we were through we pulled up to a clean cut home near the back of the community that looked exactly like every other home on the street. Nothing stood out or made me absolutely sure this was Eric's home until he parked and got out to open the garage door. Inside was a cherry red corvette that I recognized instantly, and I was convinced.

I got out of the car and grabbed a bag with a few personal items and the crown and scepter I had received that evening. I wouldn't chance leaving them in the car, even if it was a safe neighborhood. I followed him quickly into the house and was greeted by a normal, functional kitchen. Instantly I felt better about staying the night and whatever amount of time I would be here, because I could make whatever I needed, provided it was already in the house.

Eric closed the door behind me with a snap, and I was locked in the house as far as I knew. It was unfamiliar to me and I didn't know the layout, so he had an extreme advantage. As he moved past me into the living room he removed the coat he had on and placed it in a closet near the front door that seemed to be a decoration, more than something used frequently. I stood in the kitchen waiting for direction or instruction when I realized that he might be waiting for me to ask or direct how and where I stayed.

"You have a lovely home," I told him softly. I couldn't think of anything else that might break the silence that wouldn't sound stiff or mechanical. Where the kitchen was modern and sleek, the living room was contemporary and posh, sleek straight lines matched with opulent jewel tones as accents. It tied together his strictly modern business look, with an older more regal appeal. Each part of his personality was displayed exactly how he wanted it to be, and I was honored to be seeing a view I knew many hadn't had the privilege to see.

He nodded mutely and continued in to an office, checking to make sure the computer was off since he had not been back in some time. When he was finished he led me to a bedroom that was on the main level of the house just past a set of stairs that headed up.

"You may stay here, if you wish," Eric spoke. The first words he had said since we were at Sookie's. They weren't cold and unfeeling, but they weren't the encouragement he was offering earlier either.

"This is the only room suitable for humans aside from my own, which is secured with a double lock security. If you were to stay in my room, it would be for the rest of the night and all of the day tomorrow."

"I see," I responded. "Is that the safest place within the house then?"

He looked at me then and answered after a short moment, "Yes."

"Then with you I will go. If that isn't a problem," I added hastily.

"It is not," Eric said. Then he turned as I was about to step onto the stairs and pinned me with his eyes. "Is this truly what you want, Tristan? Is your desire to bed me and claim your crown then take my recommendation and leave? I do not play games and if you intend to use me and leave, then you cannot stay more than the night."

I drew in a breath and let it out slowly. I needed to think about how I would respond and not let my emotions control how I spoke.

"I do not mean to play games with you, or use you for my own selfish gain. If I were to choose how to proceed, I would not require someone to be a figurehead, an empty and unattached face to approve my motions. I intend to look further into the laws and discern for myself if I am truly required a bedmate because I cannot give myself to you and feel worthy of my position. It is against what I feel in my heart to be correct, and required."

His eyes softened and his lips bared a hint of a smile but he hid them as soon as he caught me looking.

"Then I will allow you into my bed, and it will be your choice on how we proceed after this." With that he led me up the stairs and to a double keypad entry system. He typed a code too fast for me to see and didn't give me information on how to activate or disarm it which was fine with me. It also made sense that I would be stuck in the room the entire day, I could not re-enter if I chose to leave it until Eric rose for the evening.

The interior of this room was more modern but held all of the old-world charm I was expecting. A four poster bed with curtains and an enormous head board was adorned with blood red silk sheets. A walk in closet was on the other wall opposite the door we entered from and filled with impeccably fashionable clothes. Another door led to a huge bathroom that sparkled pristinely. I couldn't see past the doorway too much, but there was a large tub that could hold two very comfortably peeking out at me.

Every bit the gentleman he was capable of being, Eric took my bag and placed it beside the closet. He showed me where I could leave my things so they weren't in the way or out in the open to be seen by anyone that had access to the room either. It was odd, being in so intimate a space without allowing myself to be intimate, but I knew to appease my guilty heart, and ensure I knew fully what I was getting into, I would abstain.

Eric began removing his clothing and stopped after reaching for his belt to undo his pants. The shirt he had worn was tossed in a neat basket I had missed near the bathroom, and his hands waited patiently for me to notice before continuing. I blushed slightly and nodded my assent, I couldn't be prudish and shy now, not when he had seen and carried me naked, into his lovers home. Seeing skin didn't mean it had to be touched, or even looked at.

He slipped off his shoes and unbuckled his belt removing it and placing it on the nightstand beside the bed. He unbuttoned his pants and slid them off, tossing them to the same basket his shirt had gone before. Bending over to remove his socks was torturously fun, and I looked away. There is only so long anyone can stare at red silk boxers before choosing to remove them permanently.

As he went to the bathroom to run water for a bath, I rummaged through my bag for my nightclothes. Once I found them I asked if he minded closing the door and received a respectful shake of his head while his boxers pooled at his feet and a towel wrapped around his waist. I closed it gently and moved closer to the bed to remove my own clothes and ready myself for sleep. It was only two in the morning, but I had spent most of the day up and I was exhausted from everything that had been happening over the last two weeks. What was a couple more to decide if I absolutely needed to have sex with someone to claim my birthright? Or if I even wanted to.

I took off my clothes and crumpled them up into my bag and put on my night gown. The slip of satin on my skin was like water and it soothed my nerves ever so slightly. It was a deep blue color with lace overlay and fit me a little snug but not overly tight. The neckline was still modest but allowed a peek at my chest and the length was just below the knee. It was fitted just below my breasts and had a low dipping back that showed off my lithe figure. It was the only thing I had slept in since I'd gotten here, and unless I wanted to sleep in my clothes I had no other choice. Well, no - I had no other choice.

As I pulled back the sheets to climb into the immaculate and oversized bed I heard the drip of water in the bathroom and the swish of a towel being wrapped around Eric's waist as the tub drained. Had I really taken that long? Maybe he had only wanted to soak for a short amount of time. I had no idea if vampires became pruned when they stayed in water for too long.

Eric took his time drying off behind the closed door and when he opened it, the towel was firmly in place around his hips. I tried not to stare, but his sculpted body was a tantalizing thing and almost begged attention. That goes without saying his personality of the same caliber and ostentatious regard. I looked down at my hands folded neatly in my lap above the bedcovers and blushed crimson refusing to meet Eric's curious gaze.

Despite my attempts to disengage with him and knowing it would be difficult to remain completely separate, Eric padded over to the bed, stepping beside me. He lifted my chin and caught my eyes, holding them there until I stopped struggling. I could have thrown a low blow and forced him to release me, but the hospitality he was showing and the graciousness with which he afforded me was beyond what most would do.

I locked eyes and blinked slowly, like a child gaining understanding and Eric lowered his weight beside my legs on the bed still holding my face. He gently took his hand and caressed my cheek, dragging his thumb across it too.

"You do not need to be ashamed of wanting, there are many who look more boldly than you," Eric told me squarely. "It would not be unwelcome for you to do the same."

My eyes crinkled and a laugh escaped my throat before I could think. The light and tinkling sound made Eric's lips upturn and that look in his eyes deepen into a real affection. I was suddenly hit with the feelings he had, too. Pure intoxication at the sound of my laughter, a secret desire to have me lie with him forever, and an overwhelming need to touch that left me breathless. I must have given some difference in appearance because in an instant the feelings lessened and morphed into a jumbled mess within me.

Eric tried to stand and leave but I caught his hand holding him beside me still. I patted the bed next to me with my free hand and he reluctantly sat in the same spot again. I knew it was uncomfortable for him to be as vulnerable as he had shown me just now, but I appreciated that authentic part of him. It was a part he didn't embrace often and that made it more difficult than it needed to be.

"Thank you," I cooed. "I know how difficult it is for you to be so open, and I have the same insecurities to an extent. I want you to know that every glimpse I get of the you that is so well hidden makes me more at ease with myself and the responsibility I am looking at accepting."

Eric nodded for me to continue if I wished. I confessed to him something that only Derek had known about me. The thing that made me unsure if I truly knew how to rule a people, let alone control myself.

"I have never seen anyone else before," I started. I had to clarify because that was too vague, and I knew it made little sense without context. "I have only been with one, ever. Derek knew me as no one else, even as my brother claims. He had a power over me for too long a time that I was afraid to be intimate at all. So, I will do my best to not be ashamed of wanting to look at you, or even desiring you because these are things I never thought I would feel or understand."

Eric was still and I was afraid he had decided I wasn't worth the trouble to be involved with. He hadn't moved since I finished speaking and I hadn't felt any stir of emotion either. Slowly he seemed to come back to himself absorbing my words and thinking them over. He looked at me and leaned closer barely an inch from my face.

"You could have told me that sooner," he said closing the distance and pressing his lips to mine.

He moved them expertly over mine and made it slow and sensual. He was allowing me to set the pace, if I wished. I wanted badly to jump right in and not care about the repercussions or how it would affect both of us if we were to be intimate. I matched his tantalizingly slow pace and sighed with content. My eyes had closed in the rush of hormones and desire so I opened them and was met with a cool cobalt blue across from my electrically bright eyes.

A jolt of need swept over me and I placed my hands on either side of Eric's face, ignoring the still damp hair clinging to one cheek. I kissed in earnest, darting my tongue out to taste his lips. The desire I had hidden behind my eyes was matched in Eric's and his lips parted for me easily. Our tongues danced between us and incited a fire that was difficult to put out.

Thoughts ran through my head about my lover just laid to rest, and of the responsibility I was accepting if we allowed ourselves to succumb to the pleasure we seemed to so desperately need. Eric continued and ran one hand across my shoulder and down to my waist under the sheets, turning to better face me and placing his huge legs on either side of me. The towel had unraveled and had opened and spilled down his hips onto the bed.

If I hadn't broken away to breathe for just a moment I wouldn't have taken notice yet, but even at half mast, he packed some serious equipment. I could have swooned, but I was so curious and intrigued that I was caught staring. I blushed again, but slower and more aware of what he had told me before. I looked up at Eric again and ran my fingers behind his neck into his hairline. Twirling them in the strands I pulled him to me and kissed him again, opening my mouth like I could swallow him whole.


	16. Chapter 16

Eric ran his hands across my body, caressing my face and peeling the covers back deftly. He pulled way this time, to admire my sleepwear and how it hugged my curves in all the right ways. One of my hands was still tangled in his hair and the other roamed freely across his chest and shoulder. I hadn't dared venture south, because I was sure I couldn't help myself after the sight he had proven to be. I couldn't use the excuse that I was only human and my desires were carnal and sometimes unable to control, but I would have loved to in that moment.

The same moment that thought crossed my mind, Eric's weight was pressing down on me, his overly plentiful package resting somewhere between my stomach and lower. I was fighting with myself on so many levels that it seemed impossible to make a choice, let alone the right one. Eric seemed to sense my slight hesitation and eased his weight over me, still keeping as much contact as possible and pulled his lips from mine.

"What troubles you, Highness?" He asked me softly. His eyes shone brightly but the knowledge was there, behind their brightness. I couldn't lie around this one. I tried to figure out how to open the connection from my end, so he knew the storm of emotions coursing through me but I faltered. That would make me more vulnerable to him than I had ever been to anyone else. That was more intimate and permanent to me than even bedding him for a crown I had run from in the first place.

I sighed and answered him honestly. "I don't know what I'm doing here, I mean I know how to have sex, and pleasure is nothing new, but everything else that comes with it, that's where I'm lost."

He looked down at me, but he didn't seem deflated. He seemed to be accepting a challenge almost, like I was a notch on a belt and I filled with dread. If that was all I would ever be to him, I couldn't do this, now or in the future. I was not a prize for anyone, and I would make that clear, even if I had to leave half-dressed and drive for three days straight. There was no length I wouldn't go to ensuring that I was first and foremost, my own true self. Everything else came second, even Derek.

I must have opened the connection to Eric somehow because he noticed the change as instantly as I did. He rushed to hold my hand while I tried to pull it away. I wasn't a match for him without using my powers, and within walls it was more difficult and more draining so I let him keep hold of my hand as he explained himself to me.

"You do not need to fear me, a challenge is not what I seek. I want to show you how to be strong and intimate with another. I want to show myself," he confessed to me.

"What do you mean, Eric? You haven't had that before?" I asked, just to be sure.

"No," he replied. "It is a terrible burden, living this long and not being able to share. It is why we make our children, our progenys, and also why many do not last this long. We grow tired of seeing humans and supernaturals doing the same things they have always done. Some become reckless and look for danger or someone to destroy their existence, others choose to meet the sun because they no longer desire to see this world and the problems it creates."

"Our company is not kept for more than a few centuries, and even then, it is not always trustworthy. I have chosen well for myself with the children I have made, but they have been free to do as they wish for quite some time and I would not deny them the choice to leave or to stay. The closeness we share as maker and child, it is not as intimate as lover, though we were physical in the beginning. What you are searching for, and what I have not yet found is rarer than Sookie is now."

He was talking about what I was looking for? I guess I wanted what he was describing, but I had no way of knowing what that truly was. To be able to share everything with someone? For them to live as long as I would, and understand me inside and out like we were the same person, divided between two bodies? Yes, but I still didn't think that was what Eric was looking for.

Sookie challenged him and the authority he had. She questioned his every action and motive and made him see through a perspective he had almost no need for any longer. Could I be the same? Would I? I looked at Eric and saw someone who had walked this world for centuries, at first in torment and finally in freedom. He had carved a path for himself through it and it had shaped and defined him as much as any singular event had. He deserved to find some peace and solace with a soul that would match his.

"Are you sure that can be found with me? There is even more responsibility by choosing me than by choosing Sookie, or anyone else for that matter. How can you know?" I wondered at him.

"You are a strong and brilliant woman that much is clear to me. I have no doubt you will rule your people well, as for finding a being that I can confide in and grow to trust, I have tried and failed that many times before meeting you. Forgive my insensitiveness, but seeing you with your lover has proven that what we both seek isn't impossible to find, merely difficult to see at first."

Well. Even though mentioning or thinking of Derek stung, the ache in my soul was lessening as I spent time with Eric. I was attributing that to lust and a desire to forget the painful things that life throws at us, but maybe I was wrong. It wasn't so out of this world that I couldn't believe it, but it made me feel like I had never know what I wanted in the first place.

Could we have been brought together by fate? Was my destiny entwined with Eric's so completely that I had no escape? I had the ability to change my circumstances but if the universe was converging in these moments to connect us and put us together, for whatever reason I needed to explore it. I may even need to accept it, but that was still unclear to me. It was possible the goddess was guiding me in this direction from the beginning, and while Derek had been what I believed I wanted, what I needed and sought after was right here, beside me in this bed.

Eric leaned left and slipped under the covers and propped his head up with one hand, elbow curved for support. He was waiting, for me to respond or to choose I wasn't sure, but it most likely it was both. If he was my future and we were a match made by a force unseen, then there really was no choice to be made.

"Perhaps, we can find the strength in each other that we both have longed for," I ventured. "But to begin, I want to discover if I truly need a king by my side."

Eric nodded and scooted closer to me. "May I hold you while you sleep then, if we are not consummating a union as yet?"

I smiled and closed the distance between us, kissing him softly and giving him permission. I curled into his arms and rested peacefully for the first time in nearly ten years. That should have been the last evidence I needed that Eric and I were tied together cosmically and I would find no other option unless I walked away from the crown. Silly me though, I kept searching for an out that didn't exist.

Over the next week I poured over any documents I could bring to memory and any conversations Derek and I had before I had become frightened and ran. None of it was conclusive or even helpful because I had nothing in front of me. I reached out through a scrying method I had found and asked Elder Avitis to provide me with some illumination and documents on the passing of power between the families and what was required to take the throne.

The week after that, in the home stretch of my decision documents arrived at Eric's house while he slept. I had made the venture out the day after we had arrived and felt comfortable knowing he was there, even if I couldn't reach him. Our nightly routine was very much the same and it was difficult for Eric to keep to his promise that I would be the one to decide how we continued in our complicated and difficult relationship.

I hadn't spoken to anyone and had only moved around the house, Pam was aware of my presence there but didn't question it, assuming that Eric had chosen to make me a pet of some sort. I hadn't asked about Sookie and Eric hadn't spoken of her, so I assumed she had carried on with her life and despised Eric for his message about leaving for Oklahoma, even though he still held her heart.

I felt so awful for making her life more difficult without her even knowing the extent of it. Not only had she allowed me into her home, I was now contemplating how to form a relationship with her not boyfriend who was intended to marry a vampire queen for the sake of interstate alliances. It couldn't have been any worse unless she showed up out of the blue to have one final word with Eric about how much she did not appreciate being treated like an object or possession. It wouldn't have surprised me so much either, if I had really thought about it and the fact that they had been married according to vampire law, and were still required to divorce or annul, or whatever the term for them was.

Their situation was complicated but I took the award for complicating the shit out of it and making the worst situation for either of them pale in comparison to mine. I felt selfish and cruel and unworthy of being called good because I had so little control over my life, but I was making such a mess of theirs. Eric dealt with it well enough and immersed himself in business when he wasn't with me, but he still managed to feel restless by the time he came back every night.

I couldn't help feeling like I was the cause if it, because to be honest, I was. I even offered to stay in the downstairs bedroom which resulted in a firm and under no circumstances would anything like it happen, no from Eric. He said he enjoyed having me there while he slept for the first part of the day and wanted to keep me as safe as was possible for him. I wasn't sure how safe he could truly keep me, and I knew he was less safe for having me here.

Two nights before the end of my time to decide was up, a knock at Eric's door made me jump up from the coffee table where I had been going over documents until my eyes were dry or Eric managed to pull me away so I could rest. I hadn't been able to dispute the need for me to have a mate and be intimate in order to claim the crown that currently resided on one of the bedside tables in Eric's bedroom.

I walked across the hall, not sure of who I would find on the other side of the door but was beaten by Eric. He opened it just enough to peek through and kept me back so I couldn't see. I could still hear, and the shrill sound of Sookie's voice as she began to lose her cool met my ears. I hastily went to the coffee table to collect my things and moved into Eric's office so they could have the common areas to themselves if they chose.

From what I could hear, Eric's betrothed had visited Sookie a few nights before to sum up her competition and had found her a conundrum. How could Eric want a mere human girl compared to the diva queen in Oklahoma? I didn't know the answer to that, but she should have just come to see Eric in the first place and found she had more than one girl, and a whole lot of fate to compete with now.


	17. Chapter 17

I wasn't thrilled at the idea of that happening, but now that Sookie had been visited I was sure it was inevitable. As inevitable as my need to have sex with Eric if I chose to rule my people. My mind buzzed with all the thoughts and was unfocused at best. When Pam slid up next to me to look at the document I was holding I nearly jumped out of the chair. The noise I made was hardly dignified and made Sookie stop her ranting long enough to use her gift to sense me.

As I had gotten closer to the truth of my situation, I had become less and less human with each day. It must have been why Sookie hadn't noticed anyone but Eric and now Pam were here. I was becoming more difficult to read, or sense, however it was she knew the number and thoughts of people depending on their liveliness.

"What are you doing here Kat-Tristan?" she asked rounding the corner of the office and sliding through the door. I had no answer ready but I should have known, as entertaining as Pam found my situation, she found Sookie even more so.

"She's deciding whether or not to have sex with my master," Pam answered for me.

"Pamela," came a warning growl from Eric.

"What?" she quipped back, unashamed or concerned at the outcome of her words.

Sookie's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she turned her gaze on me. I was worried for Eric's computer at this point, and the documents I had behind me so in a foolish attempt to protect them I stepped closer to her.

Having her hands shoot around my throat was not what I had in mind but before she could do any real damage Eric had her off of me. He held her back as she fought against his stony grip, trying to get to me and take out her anger and hurt on someone closer to her size.

"Sookie," I started. "It's not like that."

"Then how the hell is it, huh? Cause it sure looks like it from here!" she yelled at me. I closed my eyes briefly and opened them, meeting her hurt gaze full of confusion and betrayal.

"The night I left Eric came with me, to a secret meeting with my elders, the people from whom I will gain my title if I choose," I told her.

"At this meeting I was told I would have two weeks to decide if I will take the throne, and if I choose to do so, I will need a mate to consummate my coronation and provide testimony to my capabilities to rule a people. I have been searching for the last two weeks to find something different, something that doesn't ask this of me. Eric offered for me to stay here because it is as safe as anywhere else, and for the most part he can protect me."

She balked and looked around at the papers surrounding Eric's office. Some of them were business related, pertaining to the club and vendors. Others were older and more discolored, my papers through which I had searched tirelessly for an out. I knew she didn't want to believe me but I saw the moment when she caught words from a document that had nothing to do with vampire business. It was breaking her heart to admit these things to herself, but I had nothing else I could say any differently.

"I hate you," she spat at me. "All of you!" Eric released her arms and she stomped off in the direction of the door, and presumably her car. I nodded at Eric and he followed her out trying to console her and keep her from making a bigger scene in the yard. I couldn't tell how successful he was but he returned quickly and gathered my papers in a messy stack, grabbing my arm and hauling me up the stairs with him.

"Eric what's wrong?" I asked. "I'm sorry if I said something wrong or didn't explain well enough, I was doing my best."

He turned to look at me outside his bedroom door, "I know that. Now be quiet."

I frowned but complied because I was almost sure he had a reason for behaving this way. Almost.

"Master," Pam said gliding up behind me as quiet as a mouse.

"Yes, Pamela?" he asked.

"There is someone to see you, and it is not Sookie."

Eric nodded and opened the door for me to step inside. I met his eyes in a curious glance and with a single shake of his head I knew it was something serious that he did not want me involved in. I would respect that, but I would ask about it when I got the chance. If we were going to spend an eternity together ruling over the kingdom I grew up in, we would have to talk and communicate much better than we were right now.

I stepped over the threshold just as a gorgeously frail and determined woman stepped onto the landing. Her hair could have given Kayden a run for his money with how stunningly red it was in contrast with her milky white complexion. This must be the queen from Oklahoma. Suddenly I knew exactly why Sookie had been so upset, and in comparing myself to both of them, I was a mixture of their features in every way but my hair and eyes.

Where they had blond and red hair respectively, I had hair darker than pitch and long as my waist but I usually kept it up and out of the way. My eyes were a striking, electric blue and Sookie's were more of a clear, sunny sky blue. The yet, unnamed queen had eyes like green jade, and their gaze pierced just as surely. Where her skin was milky white, and Sookie looked kissed by the sun, I was pale and cool, with a tint of golden tan peeking through now and then. As a child I was always dark and tan, but growing older I became more pale and fair skinned, not for lack of sunlight either.

I was also considerably shorter than the woman standing in Eric's hallway, and Sookie, too. It was something I was used to but in that moment made me feel inadequate and unsure of myself. I shouldn't have worried though, because Eric moved to shield me as she came lightning fast to examine this new wrinkle in her marriage plans.

"Who is this?" she asked, her voice cool and smooth, like a glacial river. It made me shiver, and I was one with the cold.

"No one," he replied quickly, trying to push me through the door and into the safety of his bedroom, which no doubt smelled of us both.

"Then why don't you introduce us?" she asked despite looking like she would love for me to go running in fear and defeat. I inched around Eric, who stood immobile and statue like to get a better view. I didn't put my hand out or make a gesture, merely met her eyes.

"I'm Tristan, and I am a fugitive, intergalactically speaking. And you are?" She looked me over openly and parted her lips just so, as if trying to wrap her head around my existence, because it really didn't make much sense.

"I am Freyda, vampire queen of Oklahoma and betrothed to Eric Northman," was her belated response. "You are not another of his playthings, are you?"

"Never call me a plaything," I said, my voice low and dangerous like it hadn't been before.

"Did I touch a nerve?" She queried. "I didn't mean to." Her saccharine grin said otherwise, but it wasn't being referred to as Eric's I had a problem with, it was the word plaything in general. I had never liked the term and it was something that Kayden had used with me to show affection, in his sick and twisted way. She couldn't know that, we'd only just met, but Eric had caught on just fine.

"Perhaps a drink, in the living room?" Eric intervened, leading Freyda down the stairs while I slipped in the room. I couldn't say I was thankful, but I was glad to be rid of Freyda for a moment of peace while I changed into something that I felt competent to fight in.

Clothing myself in black jeans and a royal blue tank top instead of my boy shorts and oversized tee, I headed downstairs, as quietly as humanly possible, which for vampires wasn't very quiet. I looked ahead trying to determine if I would need to be on the defensive. Pam surprised me by placing her hand on the small of my back and I had to suppress my noise of surprise. She led me into the living room and sat on the love seat next to me, across from Eric and Freyda who were on the low couch.

Eric was trying to be clear with is body language but Freyda was having none of it. I didn't pay attention to their discussion and Pam looked to be just as bored, first playing with my hair, and when she tired of it, opting to go into her resting state where she did the impression of a statue quite nicely. For an hour they talked about all of the political toes this would step on and who would blame who. I had had enough, and got up, startling Pam out of her stupor and drawing attention to myself.

"Freyda," I said calmly. "I really don't care about whose feelings I'm going to hurt or how it affects you at all. I have an entire race of people that are depending on me to lead and protect them. I cannot do that alone. If you want Eric, we can make arrangements, but I need to appear as united on the same front for them."

She stared at me, her plainly beautiful face contorting into a mask of rage and hate. These were emotions I was more familiar with, so I settled into my fighting posture, waiting for her to make a move. As soon as she rose, Eric was in front of her stalling her progress. He turned to look at me, furious for goading her into action. I could understand his feelings but I didn't care. I was running out of time and I would not let some tart from Oklahoma stand in the way of what was rightfully mine.

"Tristan," Eric began. "You should not have said those things. You are being dangerous to yourself in this situation."

I scoffed. "So you didn't truly mean it when you said you would stand by me? I should have known. I can only depend on myself and that hasn't turned out so well for me, but thank you for the insight, Eric." I spat.

I moved around them and began up the stairs, not caring that I didn't know how to get in, and walked toward Eric's room. I would kick the door down if I had to. The door was closed with the keypad on my left, so I tried the handle. When it didn't work I entered random numbers, hoping I would have some luck. When that didn't work, placed my hand over the key pad palm down and wrapped my other around the handle.

I let my anger flow freely through me, fueling my change in the middle of the hallway, and felt the ice slip from me to the pad and door. I heard it crack and solidify over each piece. By that time Pam was up the stairs and behind me to my right, and Eric hedged toward me, still keeping Freyda as far away from me as possible. I released some more ice, just for show, and pushed out against the door as I turned the handle in my grasp.

The loud snap that accompanied the door opening, and the beeping coming from the pad I had frozen over filled our ears. I ignored them, stepping into the room and gathering my few belongings and the crown and scepter as I stormed about the room. My scars were showing through, and my eyes had become even brighter in my fit, a sight Freyda would surely remember for a long time. I hadn't paid much attention to my surroundings so when Eric's hands clasped around the top of my arms I lashed out and struck him with my foot, covering his pants with an icy spot where I had connected.

I struggled helplessly, because I wasn't sure how much power to exert or if I truly wanted to, and Eric turned me with a questioning look to see Elder Avitis standing in the bedroom, or at least he appeared to be in the bedroom. I took a step back, bumping into Eric and silently cursed myself for not noticing.

"Ah, milady," Elder Avitis greeted me. "I see you are preparing for your ceremony, yes?" He asked, pleasantly smiling like he hadn't seen me throwing a fit. I opened and closed my mouth several times but nothing came out, and Eric stepped up, addressing the elder for me.

"She is, there have only been a few complications in the process." Eric informed Elder Avitis. He didn't elaborate on what those complications were or how drastically the situation had changed. In that moment I found my voice again, and began to use it earnestly.

"Actually, Elder," I began. "I have found this man incompetent to rule beside me. We do not have the same vision for my people, and I cannot move forward with him. Is there anything preventing me from claiming my birthright without the need for a bedmate?" I asked him.

He looked at me sternly and shook his head. What I had expected.

"Then I will fight this with every fiber of my being, Elder Avitis, because I do not need a man, or bedmate to confirm my ability to understand and care for our people. I can do this alone, and I will once the council sees me capable." I said boldly.

"It does not work that way, Tristan. I am sorry, but if you do not have a mate that is suitable to lead with you, you cannot have the throne. Unless you accept your brother to rule with you, there is no chance of you becoming Queen and ending the turmoil that has been constant since your departure," he informed me.

I could have screamed at him but that would have done nothing to help me. I felt the tears pricking at my eyes, but I blinked them back, refusing to let the reality of my situation change my mind or weaken my resolve.

"I will find a way," I said coldly. There was no room for guessing my meaning. Eric turned me to face him and took my face in one of his giant hands. I averted my eyes choosing to look anywhere but at him.

"Tristan," He said. "Tristan, look at me," he pleaded. Slowly I let my eyes meet his and saw his determination to make this right for me, even if I hated him for it. "Let me help you, please."

I scrunched my face up in anger and resignation, I would not lose my crown because of some stupid rule. But I would play the game to get what I wanted. I nodded at him and he drew me to him, crushing my head to his chest. "Go and change into something nice, Pamela will help you," he whispered in my ear. To Elder Avitis I said, "I have changed my mind, and I will accept the terms of my right to rule, this man will be my sponsor and can confidently say I am able to rule over this kingdom."

A slight nod as I exited with Pam not far behind and we were down the stairs and into the second bedroom. Pam had a stash of "emergency" clothes in the closet, and she chose a dress that was nearly the same shade as my tank top. It was a form fitting cocktail dress that had three straps and was ruched in the front and back and came up to about my mid-thigh. Pam smiled ear to ear in approval and gave me a hug, rather untypical of her.

"Knock 'em dead," she told me jokingly. The finishing touch were the heels that added three inches easily and were a stunning sparkly white peep-toe. We made our way up the stairs again and I noticed that Freyda was nowhere to be seen. I didn't ask and I wasn't told which suited me just fine, as long as she didn't come flying out of the bathroom or anywhere else to attack me.

When I was in the center of the room I was about to get on my knees to proceed with the ceremony when Elder Avitis stopped me. I looked at him, confused, and halted my progress. Looking to Eric, Elder Avitis motioned us together. Were we really supposed to go through a marriage ceremony too? We stood before the Elder, facing each other, and he began to speak the words that preceded a marriage ceremony.


	18. Chapter 18

Our hands were bound by a single cord of royal blue, and we spoke words that I wasn't sure either of us meant. Eric had talked to Elder Avitis while I was changing and asked to include vampire rites to marriage in the ceremony before proceeding. After the cord was removed we exchanged blood, simple pinpricks to a finger and it was over. We were bound together through hell or high water and I was about to be truly given the crown, Elder Avitis as the witness on my behalf from my race.

Eric helped me to my knees and stood behind me to my left while the Elder spoke words in a language I hadn't used my entire time on Earth. It brought back memories, bittersweet, and made me long for the floors and halls I had roamed as a child. When it was my turn to respond, I used the same language to state that I would serve and guide my people, protecting them from the cruelties outside our home and showing them what true leadership and service was through my example.

As the crown was placed upon my head and the scepter given to me in my right hand I felt a weight I hadn't before in my chest. The burden of responsibility to do exactly what I had promised and make their lives better because of the destruction and wrath my brother had wrought on them when we fled. It was encompassing and suffocating but the knowledge that I wouldn't bear it alone eased my mind.

Eric took my hand as I stood, and turned to face him. Elder Avitis came beside us and placed a hand on our shoulders. With a rueful look upon his face he caught our eyes. What he had to say was something I wouldn't like, I was sure of it, and when he began to speak it was confirmed.

"Now that you are wed and have been crowned the ruler of your home, Tristan, you must consummate before witnesses to ensure no contest can be made against you," Elder Avitis said.

"What?" I asked numbly. I was very private with that part of myself and had no desire to consummate anything, save for the fact that it was necessary for me to retain my position on the throne.

"If you are unwilling to do this, the title will pass to your brother, as your sister has not been found." Avitis spoke again.

My eyes darted around the bedroom, conveniently where the ceremonies had taken place, and I paled. I met Eric's eyes and he offered a consoling but questionable gaze. He was more than willing to participate and I was the one holding up the movement forward. Pam stood, off near the bathroom and shrugged slightly, as if it didn't matter either way, but the sly and curious smile that crept up when I turned my head denied how intrigued she was.

Closing my eyes for a brief moment I took a few breathes to calm myself and opened them to find Eric's icy blues staring into my own electrically bright blue ones. I gave a tiny nod while letting out the breath I had been holding. Eric stepped toward me slowly and deliberately. Unconsciously I stepped back until my legs hit the footboard at the bottom of Eric's giant bed. It startled me and I let out a gasp.

Eric chuckled and removed the crown from my head reaching back and handing it to Pam as well as the scepter he took from my fingers. "You are rather adorable when you are surprised," he told me softly. "We can move as slowly as you like. I will not harm you when you are so vulnerable and unsure Tristan. Please, trust me. Let me help you out of this shell you hide within," came his whispered but passionate plea. The only other person who could have heard it was Pam, and she didn't make any sign that she had heard at all.

I nodded and met Eric's eyes. Just the way he looked at me made me believe him, and my worries about being on display lessened. Eric ran one hand up and down my arm while the other pulled my head toward his. Our lips met and he kissed me softly, trying to make me more at ease. His other hand that had been stroking my arm began to move lower, rubbing my hip and sliding down my leg.

I shuddered in anticipation and dread. I felt dirty for displaying an act that is so personal, so sacred for even a small number of witnesses. It made me feel the same way Kayden had, and my lips pursed, making the kiss awkward and messy. Tears began to flow down my cheeks, hot and wet. They dripped off my chin and made little spots on the dress Pam had lent me and my breathing hitched. Eric stopped kissing me and moved his hands to cup my face.

"Tristan, we don't have to do this," he soothed me. "We can find another way."

"No," I gasped quietly. "We have to do this, we have to follow through." I started sobbing and he took me in his arms and held me close, gently rocking me until I was quiet again. I looked up and saw grim determination on his face, like he would rather stop and spare my mind the agony of reliving my nightmares than force me to become queen. I would have agreed, but I would be queen if we had sex or not. My brother would have me by his side and I would have no power, I would be the weak one, and I couldn't let that happen.

"We have to do this," I said firmly. "One way or another I will be on that throne, the difference is whether I will have any power there. Please, Eric."

"I don't like it when you cry," he told me, kissing my forehead and cheeks. He licked his lips before pressing them gently to mine and began to move his hands across my body. He found the hem of the dress and began to pull it up, stopping just below my waist to rub his thumb along my bare hip bone. He kept one hand cupped to the back of my head and let the other roam, exploring my back and taught midsection. He chanced sweeping lower, running his hand across my butt and down my thigh.

As good as it felt, I still couldn't stop myself from thinking that I was wrong for doing this, and I had blemished myself to falsely claim how pure and righteous I could be. I knew that Eric was opening up the connection, trying to calm my fears and soothe my pain, but I was so absorbed by my guilt that I couldn't get out of my own head.

Eric began to play with me through my underwear, to make it easier and less painful, but the pain I felt wasn't physical. He ran a finger under the hem of my panties and crooked it so he could slide them down to pool around my feet, still clad in high heels. The entire time he hadn't stopped kissing me and trying to make me forget what we were about to do. Once my underwear were off he began to undo his pants and slid them down, in a pool at his feet to match my own.

Despite having seen him in all his glory throughout the time I had spent with him, I hadn't ventured to think about what it would be like to take him inside me. Eric broke our kiss and stared deep into my eyes, trying to see past the pain and confusion floating on the surface. He must have seen something to reach out for and pulled me out of myself for just a moment.

"Tristan, we can still stop if you want to," Eric said loud enough for even Elder Avitis to hear. He wanted to make it clear that I was in control of my life and I was the one making this decision. I gave him a tight smile before answering, "No, let's keep going."

He gave a curt nod and began to play with my folds hitching one of my legs to up on to the foot rest and pinning my back to the bedpost. He kissed my lips lightly then began to nuzzle his way down my jawline to nip at my neck. Distracting me, that's what he was doing, but I let him. I didn't want this to be another point where I had no control over it, another way to get lost in my fear.

Eric made his way back up to my lips and met my eyes, open and ready for the final step that was necessary in the process. He positioned himself as best he could, there was still a major height difference, and began to slid into me. The reality didn't hit me until he was most of the way inside and I began to panic. I felt trapped and wanted to escape, run away from my feelings. Eric moved slowly, in and out to make sure he wasn't hurting me physically and took my face in one of his hands, forcing me to look at him.

I let my emotions play across my face, and the tears spill out the corners of my eyes. Eric kissed me, not caring if I wanted it or not, simply trying to change my reaction and he opened up the connection so that I could feel him too. I may not be able to get into his head, but getting into his heart? That gave me somewhere to land and something else to focus on.

He was full of worry and concern for me. He didn't want to cause me the harm he knew he was already causing, but knew he had no choice. There was resentment too, at the fact there was no way around it. And fear, for my well-being and his own, because nothing like this had ever been done before as far as either of us knew.

I also knew he was angry. I couldn't tell where that was directed but he tried to hide that underneath everything else. He was pushing emotions at me too. Love, adoration, affection. Things he felt for me deeply and wanted me to focus on. It helped me to escape the dark places I wanted to hide inside myself. I kept crying, but it was no longer in shame, Eric had made me feel better about my decision than I ever had before.

I couldn't understand how he could feel these things so deeply and surely for me, we hadn't even known each other for a month. But I appreciated him making the effort to give me something positive to say about this all. I finally started to kiss him back, and it made all the difference. He no longer moved slowly trying to placate and calm me, be became more passionate. His mouth moved over mine like he could swallow my soul, and perhaps, I might have let him.

He thrust his hips against me shaking the bed post and frame. In his eyes I could see a desire building that was hidden before. He broke away from my lips and caressed my jaw, moving to the crook of my neck and nipping at it. I strained forward and gave him better access, wanting to get lost in the euphoria of being bitten and imagine a life I hadn't thought possible for me. Feeling his fangs sink into my flesh sent me over the edge and I began to truly feel the pleasure through my pain.

I clung to Eric, holding his broad shoulders tightly and digging into the shirt that hid the hard lines and planes of his back. He pulled on the wound drawing out more of my blood and I heard as much as felt the moan escape his lips. I echoed it shortly after as I felt my body convulse and shudder as I passed my limit into pleasurable oblivion. With a few hard thrusts, Eric finished behind me, keeping me from falling too quickly and pulled me into his arms as he carried me to the side of the bed.

Elder Avitis cleared his throat, a strange sound to my ears because I was still lost in the moment. Every head turned in his direction to hear what he had to say. "I am satisfied that you have completed all steps necessary for you to become queen, I will take my leave now and tell the council to expect contact with you soon. Congratulations, on your coronation and marriage, your majesty," he said, nodding to me before flickering like a candle flame and disappearing altogether.

Still staring at the spot where the Elder had stood, I registered Eric depositing me on the bed. He went to Pam's side and gave her instructions I didn't hear and she relinquished my crown and scepter, exiting without a backward glance or comment. I heard Eric chuckle to himself, probably hearing Pam as she descended the stairs, but not repeating what she said. Placing my ornaments beside me on the bedside table he began to fully undress himself, helping me with the dress and heels when I moved to get out of the bed.

Eric found my sleepwear and gently helped me into it. The way it hugged my curves and showed off my breasts no longer made me uncomfortable. Eric's lingering gaze made my cheeks heat with a blush, but it was not prudish or shy, it was coy and inviting. There were still plenty of things we needed to tackle, but I felt closer to Eric than I had in any other moment. I would relish that feeling because I never knew how long I would have it.

He brushed his fingers across my hair and cheeks then pulled me up by my outstretched hands. "Would you like something to eat?" Eric asked me. I nodded and he led me down the stairs. It was still early, almost midnight, and Eric had plenty of time to take care of other business if he chose.

We walked into the kitchen and Eric began to pick out everything he laid his eyes on. I laughed a little and took what I wanted asking him to put everything else back. I boiled water on the stove and poured it into a cup with hot chocolate mix. I had already made a sandwich and eaten most of it. Swallowing my last bite I mixed the water and hot chocolate mix together. I brought it to my lips and blew across it to cool it down, but keep it warm enough and I met Eric's eyes. I grinned like a fool and he matched the curve of my lips before I took a sip.

I was coming down from a nice place and my emotions were becoming tangled with each other. I wasn't sure how I truly felt about all of it but I knew that Eric truly felt good about how the night had gone. He was humming with energy and positivity, something I had never seen from him before, even around Sookie. I liked seeing him in good spirits but I felt like I would be the one to break his mood, and he must have felt my shift in emotions, too.

"What's wrong, majesty?" he pried, stepping closer to me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Nothing, I-" I stopped because I wasn't sure what I was going to say. "I'm not sure, Eric. I feel like things have gone too smoothly, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm worried," I finally answered, letting him know some of what I was thinking.

"Then we will deal with it as it comes, lover. You have me to support you now, and in that endeavor, I will not fail." He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, despite not needing to breathe and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Gently he tilted my head back and brought his lips to mine. It was a soft, sensual confirmation of what he had told me, but it spoke more to me than his words could have.

"You're right," I told him once we parted. I took a long draught from my cup and turned back to him. "We will face it together. I really couldn't do this without you, so thank you, Eric," I finished. He smiled, crinkling the skin around his eyes and my heart melted. I wasn't sure if I could have truly kept on going, but seeing that small reaction, that show of faith to me, was when I knew I could trust him. The same crinkle my mother had when she laughed or smiled was displayed on the face before me, and I felt at peace and sure of my path for the first time on Earth. I could do this, and I would, with Eric's help. I had time to learn what I needed, and my people would be safe, my brother would be caught and my nightmares would finally be put to rest. At least that was my thought before the front window broke and flames engulfed Eric's beautiful home.

5


End file.
